1981 PGA Championship
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | August 6–9, 1981 |
Location | Duluth, Georgia |
Course(s) | Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course |
Organized by | PGA of America |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 70 |
Length | 7,070 yards (6,465 m) |
Field | 147 players, 78 after cut[1] |
Cut | 147 (+7)[2] |
Prize fund | $401,050 |
Winner's share | $60,000 |
Champion | |
Larry Nelson | |
273 (−7) | |
The 1981 PGA Championship was the 63rd PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. Larry Nelson won the first of his three major titles, four strokes ahead of runner-up Fuzzy Zoeller.[3][4]
Lee Trevino, 1974 champion, did not sign his scorecard after an opening round 74 and was disqualified after turning himself in.[5][6] Bob Murphy led after each of the first two rounds,[7][8] but was 8-over on the weekend and finished ten strokes back in 18th place.[3] After a second consecutive 66 on Saturday, Nelson held the 54-hole lead, four strokes ahead of Zoeller[9]
Tom Watson was the PGA Tour money list leader in August 1981, but missed the cut by a stroke.[8]
It was the second major held at the Highlands Course, which hosted the U.S. Open in 1976. The PGA Championship returned in 2001 and 2011.
Past champions in the field[edit]
Made the cut[edit]
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1963, 1971, 1973 1975, 1980 |
71 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 279 | −1 | T4 |
Raymond Floyd | United States | 1969 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 284 | +4 | T19 |
Don January | United States | 1967 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 284 | +4 | T19 |
Lanny Wadkins | United States | 1977 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 286 | +6 | T33 |
David Graham | Australia | 1979 | 75 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 288 | +8 | T43 |
Dave Stockton | United States | 1970, 1976 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 288 | +8 | T43 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 1962, 1972 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 289 | +9 | T49 |
Al Geiberger | United States | 1966 | 73 | 74 | 77 | 69 | 293 | +13 | T67 |
Missed the cut[edit]
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lionel Hebert | United States | 1957 | 73 | 77 | 150 | +10 |
John Mahaffey | United States | 1978 | 76 | 75 | 151 | +11 |
Bobby Nichols | United States | 1964 | 77 | 79 | 156 | +16 |
Doug Ford | United States | 1955 | 79 | WD | ||
Sam Snead | United States | 1942, 1949, 1951 | 79 | WD | ||
Lee Trevino | United States | 1974 | 74 | DQ | [5][6] |
Round summaries[edit]
First round[edit]
Thursday, August 6, 1981
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Murphy | United States | 66 | −4 |
T2 | Bob Eastwood | United States | 67 | −3 |
Mark Lye | United States | |||
T4 | Rex Caldwell | United States | 68 | −2 |
Vance Heafner | United States | |||
Andy North | United States | |||
T7 | Charles Coody | United States | 69 | −1 |
Lon Hinkle | United States | |||
Roger Maltbie | United States | |||
Dan Pohl | United States | |||
Ron Streck | United States |
Source:[11]
Second round[edit]
Friday, August 7, 1981
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Murphy | United States | 66-69=135 | −5 |
T2 | Bob Eastwood | United States | 67-69=136 | −4 |
Larry Nelson | United States | 70-66=136 | ||
Dan Pohl | United States | 69-67=136 | ||
5 | Andy North | United States | 69-68=137 | −3 |
T6 | Vance Heafner | United States | 68-70=138 | −2 |
Tom Kite | United States | 71-67=138 | ||
Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 70-68=138 | ||
T9 | Gil Morgan | United States | 70-69=139 | −1 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 71-68=139 | ||
Jerry Pate | United States | 71-68=139 |
Source:[10]
Third round[edit]
Saturday, August 8, 1981
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Larry Nelson | United States | 70-66-66=202 | −8 |
2 | Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 70-68-68=206 | −4 |
T3 | Tom Kite | United States | 71-67-69=207 | −3 |
Andy North | United States | 69-68-70=207 | ||
T5 | Bob Eastwood | United States | 67-69-72=208 | −2 |
Vance Heafner | United States | 68-70-70=208 | ||
Bob Murphy | United States | 66-69-73=208 | ||
Greg Norman | Australia | 73-67-68=208 | ||
T9 | Isao Aoki | Japan | 75-68-66=209 | −1 |
Jerry Pate | United States | 71-68-70=209 | ||
Dan Pohl | United States | 69-67-73=209 |
Source:[12]
Final round[edit]
Sunday, August 9, 1981
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Larry Nelson | United States | 70-66-66-71=273 | −7 | 60,000 |
2 | Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 70-68-68-71=277 | −3 | 40,000 |
3 | Dan Pohl | United States | 69-67-73-69=278 | −2 | 25,000 |
T4 | Isao Aoki | Japan | 75-68-66-70=279 | −1 | 13,146 |
Keith Fergus | United States | 71-71-69-68=279 | |||
Bob Gilder | United States | 74-69-70-66=279 | |||
Tom Kite | United States | 71-67-69-72=279 | |||
Bruce Lietzke | United States | 70-70-71-68=279 | |||
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 71-68-71-69=279 | |||
Greg Norman | Australia | 73-67-68-71=279 |
Source:[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "1981 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1981 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Kindred, Dave (August 9, 1981). "Nelson tears up 'choke' label and PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 17, 1981). "A drive down easy street". Sports Illustrated. p. 48.
- ^ a b "Golf's honest men". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 7, 1981. p. 2D.
- ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (August 7, 1981). "Trevino disqualified, Murphy leads PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
- ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 8, 1981). "Murphy grabs slim PGA lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9.
- ^ a b "Murphy's fat, happy, and leading". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1981. p. 1B.
- ^ "Nelson's 66 captures PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 9, 1981. p. 1B.
- ^ a b "Murphy's fat, happy and leading". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1981. p. 1B.
- ^ Kindred, Dave (August 7, 1981). "Murphy's accuracy pays off". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1D.
- ^ "Nelson's 66 captures PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 9, 1981. p. 1B.
External links[edit]
- About.com – 1981 PGA Championship
- PGA.com – 1981 PGA Championship
- Yahoo! Sports: 1981 PGA Championship leaderboard
Preceded by 1981 Open Championship |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 1982 Masters |