1961 PGA Tour

The 1961 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to December 10. The season consisted of 48 official money events. Arnold Palmer won the most tournaments, six, and there were nine first-time winners. Gary Player was the leading money winner with earnings of $64,540. Jerry Barber was voted the PGA Player of the Year[1] and Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

1961 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1961 (1961-01-06) – December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10)
Number of official events48
Most wins6:
United States Arnold Palmer
Money winnerSouth Africa Gary Player
Player of the YearUnited States Jerry Barber
← 1960
1962 →

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1961 season.[2][3][4][5][6]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)		 Winner[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 9Los Angeles OpenCalifornia45,000United States Bob Goalby (3)
Jan 15San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia22,500United States Arnold Palmer (22)
Jan 22Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia50,000United States Bob Rosburg (5)Pro-Am
Jan 29Lucky International OpenCalifornia57,000South Africa Gary Player (3)New tournament
Feb 5Palm Springs Golf ClassicCalifornia52,000United States Billy Maxwell (5)Pro-Am
Feb 13Phoenix Open InvitationalArizona30,000United States Arnold Palmer (23)
Feb 19Home of the Sun OpenArizona20,000United States Dave Hill (1)
Feb 26Baton Rouge Open InvitationalLouisiana20,000United States Arnold Palmer (24)
Mar 5Greater New Orleans Open InvitationalLouisiana30,000United States Doug Sanders (4)
Mar 12Pensacola Open InvitationalFlorida20,000United States Tommy Bolt (15)
Mar 19St. Petersburg Open InvitationalFlorida20,000United States Bob Goalby (4)
Mar 26Sunshine Open InvitationalFlorida25,000South Africa Gary Player (4)New tournament
Apr 2Azalea OpenNorth Carolina12,000United States Jerry Barber (5)
Apr 10Masters TournamentGeorgia110,000South Africa Gary Player (5)Major championship
Apr 16Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina22,500United States Mike Souchak (13)
Apr 24Houston ClassicTexas40,000United States Jay Hebert (6)
Apr 30Texas Open InvitationalTexas30,000United States Arnold Palmer (25)
May 7Tournament of ChampionsNevada52,000United States Sam Snead (81)Winners-only event
May 7Waco Turner OpenOklahoma20,000United States Butch Baird (1)New tournament
Alternate event
May 14Colonial National InvitationTexas40,000United States Doug Sanders (5)Invitational
May 21Hot Springs Open InvitationalArkansas20,000United States Doug Sanders (6)
May 28500 Festival Open InvitationIndiana50,000United States Doug Ford (16)
Jun 4Memphis Open InvitationalTennessee30,000United States Cary Middlecoff (39)
Jun 17U.S. OpenMichigan60,000United States Gene Littler (17)Major championship
Jun 25Western OpenMichigan55,000United States Arnold Palmer (26)
Jul 3Buick Open InvitationalMichigan50,000United States Jack Burke Jr. (15)
Jul 9St. Paul Open InvitationalMinnesota30,000United States Don January (3)
Jul 15The Open ChampionshipEngland£8,500United States Arnold Palmer (27)Major championship
Jul 15Canadian OpenCanada30,000United States Jacky Cupit (1)
Jul 23Milwaukee Open InvitationalWisconsin30,000Australia Bruce Crampton (1)
Jul 31PGA ChampionshipIllinois65,000United States Jerry Barber (6)Major championship
Aug 6Eastern Open InvitationalMaryland35,000United States Doug Sanders (7)
Aug 13Insurance City Open InvitationalConnecticut30,000United States Billy Maxwell (6)
Aug 20Carling Open InvitationalMaryland35,000United States Gay Brewer (1)
Aug 27American Golf ClassicOhio50,000United States Jay Hebert (7)New tournament
Sep 4Dallas Open InvitationalTexas30,000United States Earl Stewart (3)
Sep 10Denver Open InvitationalColorado25,000United States Dave Hill (2)
Sep 17Greater Seattle Open InvitationalWashington25,000United States Dave Marr (1)
Sep 24Portland Open InvitationalOregon25,000United States Billy Casper (14)
Oct 1Bakersfield OpenCalifornia25,000United States Jack Fleck (3)New tournament
Oct 15Ontario OpenCalifornia20,000United States Eric Monti (3)New tournament
Oct 22Orange County Open InvitationalCalifornia17,500United States Bob McCallister (1)
Nov 5Almaden Open InvitationalCalifornia12,000Australia Jim Ferrier (18)New to PGA Tour
Nov 12Beaumont Open InvitationalTexas20,000United States Joe Campbell (1)New tournament
Nov 19Cajun Classic Open InvitationalLouisiana15,000United States Doug Sanders (8)
Nov 26Mobile Sertoma Open InvitationalAlabama15,000United States Gay Brewer (2)
Dec 3West Palm Beach Open InvitationalFlorida20,000United States Gay Brewer (3)
Dec 10Coral Gables Open InvitationalFlorida]20,000Canada George Knudson (1)

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)		 Winner(s) Notes
Oct 14 Ryder Cup England n/a Team USA Team event
Jun 4 Canada Cup Puerto Rico 6,300 United States Jimmy Demaret and
United States Sam Snead		 Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy United States Sam Snead

Money leaders

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[7]

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1South Africa Gary Player64,540
2United States Arnold Palmer61,091
3United States Doug Sanders57,428
4United States Billy Casper37,767
5United States Jay Hebert35,583

Awards
AwardWinner
Money winnerSouth Africa Gary Player
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Jerry Barber
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)United States Arnold Palmer

Notes
  1. The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.

References
  1. "Pro Golfers Vote Barber Top Player". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. October 8, 1961. p. 2. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. "Palmer Ruins Sanders, Par To Win At Phoenix". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. AP. February 14, 1961. p. 2-C.
  3. "Hebert Wins Houston Golf in Sudden Death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania. AP. April 25, 1961. p. 23.
  4. "Burke Captures Flint Open Golf Playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania. AP. July 4, 1961. p. 38.
  5. "1961 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  6. Johnson, Sal; Seanor, Dave, eds. (2009). The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 623–30. ISBN 978-1-60239-302-8.
  7. "Gary Player Top Money Winner". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. AP. December 15, 1961. p. 32. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
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