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 and Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.
Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1961 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.Date | Tournament | Location | Winner | Score | 1st prize |
Jan 9 | Los Angeles Open | California | ![]() | 275 | 7,500 |
Jan 15 | San Diego Open Invitational | California | ![]() | 271 | 2,800 |
Jan 22 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | ![]() | 282 | 5,300 |
Jan 29 | Lucky International | California | ![]() | 272 | 9,000 |
Feb 5 | Palm Springs Golf Classic | California | ![]() | 345 | 5,300 |
Feb 13 | Phoenix Open Invitational | Arizona | ![]() | 270 | 4,300 |
Feb 19 | Home of the Sun Open | Arizona | ![]() | 269 | 2,800 |
Feb 26 | Baton Rouge Open Invitational | Louisiana | ![]() | 266 | 2,800 |
Mar 5 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | Louisiana | ![]() | 272 | 4,300 |
Mar 12 | Pensacola Open Invitational | Florida | ![]() | 275 | 2,800 |
Mar 19 | St. Petersburg Open Invitational | Florida | ![]() | 261 | 2,800 |
Mar 26 | Sunshine Open Invitational | Florida | ![]() | 273 | 3,500 |
Apr 2 | Azalea Open | North Carolina | ![]() | 213 | 1,200 |
Apr 10 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | ![]() | 280 | 20,000 |
Apr 16 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | ![]() | 276 | 3,200 |
Apr 24 | Houston Classic | Texas | ![]() | 276 | 7,000 |
Apr 30 | Texas Open Invitational | Texas | ![]() | 270 | 4,300 |
May 7 | Tournament of Champions | Nevada | ![]() | 273 | 10,000 |
May 7 | Waco Turner Open | Oklahoma | ![]() | 281 | 2,800 |
May 14 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | ![]() | 281 | 7,000 |
May 21 | Hot Springs Open Invitational | Arkansas | ![]() | 273 | 2,800 |
May 28 | 500 Festival Open Invitation | Indiana | ![]() | 273 | 9,000 |
Jun 4 | Memphis Open Invitational | Tennessee | ![]() | 266 | 4,300 |
Jun 17 | U.S. Open | Michigan | ![]() | 281 | 14,000 |
Jun 25 | Western Open | Michigan | ![]() | 271 | 5,000 |
Jul 3 | Buick Open Invitational | Michigan | ![]() | 284 | 9,000 |
Jul 9 | St. Paul Open Invitational | Minnesota | ![]() | 269 | 4,300 |
Jul 15 | Canadian Open | Canada | ![]() | 270 | 4,300 |
Jul 15 | British Open | England | ![]() | 284 | 3,920 |
Jul 23 | Milwaukee Open Invitational | Wisconsin | ![]() | 272 | 4,300 |
Jul 31 | PGA Championship | Illinois | ![]() | 277 | 11,000 |
Aug 6 | Eastern Open Invitational | Maryland | ![]() | 275 | 5,300 |
Aug 13 | Insurance City Open Invitational | Connecticut | ![]() | 271 | 4,300 |
Aug 20 | Carling Open Invitational | Maryland | ![]() | 277 | 5,300 |
Aug 27 | American Golf Classic | Ohio | ![]() | 278 | 9,000 |
Sep 4 | Dallas Open Invitational | Texas | ![]() | 278 | 4,300 |
Sep 10 | Denver Open Invitational | Colorado | ![]() | 263 | 3,500 |
Sep 17 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Washington | ![]() | 265 | 3,500 |
Sep 24 | Portland Open Invitational | Oregon | ![]() | 273 | 3,500 |
Oct 1 | Bakersfield Open | California | ![]() | 276 | 3,500 |
Oct 15 | Ontario Open | California | ![]() | 277 | 2,800 |
Oct 22 | Orange County Open Invitational | California | ![]() | 278 | 2,400 |
Nov 5 | Almaden Open Invitational | California | ![]() | 279 | 1,200 |
Nov 12 | Beaumont Open Invitational | Texas | ![]() | 277 | 2,800 |
Nov 19 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | Louisiana | ![]() | 270 | 2,000 |
Nov 26 | Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational | Alabama | ![]() | 275 | 2,000 |
Dec 3 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Florida | ![]() | 274 | 2,800 |
Dec 10 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | Florida | ![]() | 273 | 2,800 |
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