1970 PGA Tour

1970 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 8, 1970 (1970-01-08) – December 13, 1970 (1970-12-13)
Number of official events45
Most winsUnited States Billy Casper (4)
Money listUnited States Lee Trevino
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Billy Casper
← 1969
1971 →

The 1970 PGA Tour was the 55th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the second season since separating from the PGA of America.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1970 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$) 		Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 11 Los Angeles Open California 100,000 United States Billy Casper (44)
Jan 18 Phoenix Open Invitational Arizona 100,000 United States Dale Douglass (3)
Jan 25 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 125,000 United States Bert Yancey (6) Pro-Am
Feb 1 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational California 150,000 United States Pete Brown (2)
Feb 8 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 125,000 Australia Bruce Devlin (5) Pro-Am
Feb 15 Tucson Open Invitational Arizona 100,000 United States Lee Trevino (4)
Feb 22 San Antonio Open Invitational Texas 100,000 United States Ron Cerrudo (2)
Mar 1 Doral-Eastern Open Invitational Florida 150,000 United States Mike Hill (1)
Mar 6 Florida Citrus Open Invitational Florida 25,000 United States Bob Stone (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Mar 8 Florida Citrus Invitational Florida 150,000 United States Bob Lunn (4)
Mar 15 Monsanto Open Florida 150,000 United States Dick Lotz (2)
Mar 23 Greater Jacksonville Open Florida 100,000 United States Don January (8)
Mar 29 National Airlines Open Invitational Florida 200,000 United States Lee Trevino (5)
Apr 5 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 180,000 South Africa Gary Player (13)
Apr 12 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 20,000 United States Chris Blocker (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Apr 13 Masters Tournament Georgia 125,000 United States Billy Casper (45) Major championship
Apr 20 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana 125,000 United States Miller Barber (5)
Apr 26 Tournament of Champions California 150,000 United States Frank Beard (9) Winners-only event
Apr 26 Tallahassee Open Invitational Florida 50,000 South Africa Harold Henning (2) Alternate event
May 3 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 100,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (31)
May 10 Houston Champions International Texas 115,000 United States Gibby Gilbert (1)
May 17 Colonial National Invitation Texas 125,000 United States Homero Blancas (2) Invitational
May 24 Atlanta Classic Georgia 125,000 United States Tommy Aaron (2)
May 31 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 150,000 United States Dave Hill (8)
Jun 7 Kemper Open North Carolina 150,000 United States Dick Lotz (3)
Jun 7 Kiwanis Peninsula Open Invitational Virginia 25,000 United States Jerry Barrier (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Jun 14 Western Open Illinois 130,000 United States Hugh Royer Jr. (1)
Jun 21 U.S. Open Minnesota 195,000 England Tony Jacklin (3) Major championship
Jun 28 Cleveland Open Ohio 150,000 Australia Bruce Devlin (6)
Jul 5 Canadian Open Canada 125,000 United States Kermit Zarley (2)
Jul 12 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 110,000 United States Deane Beman (2)
Jul 12 The Open Championship Scotland £40,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (32) Major championship[c]
Jul 19 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 150,000 United States Billy Casper (46)
Jul 26 National Four-Ball Championship Pennsylvania 200,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (33) and
United States Arnold Palmer (57)		 Team event
Aug 2 Westchester Classic New York 250,000 Australia Bruce Crampton (8)
Aug 9 American Golf Classic Ohio 150,000 United States Frank Beard (10)
Aug 16 PGA Championship Oklahoma 200,000 United States Dave Stockton (4) Major championship
Aug 24 AVCO Golf Classic Massachusetts 160,000 United States Billy Casper (47)
Aug 30 Dow Jones Open Invitational New Jersey 300,000 United States Bobby Nichols (9) New tournament
Sep 7 Greater Hartford Open Invitational Connecticut 100,000 United States Bob Murphy (3)
Sep 20 Robinson Open Golf Classic Illinois 100,000 Canada George Knudson (7)
Sep 27 Green Island Open Invitational Georgia 60,000 United States Mason Rudolph (5) New tournament
Oct 4 Azalea Open Invitational North Carolina 60,000 Mexico Cesar Sanudo (1)
Oct 25 Kaiser International Open Invitational California 150,000 United States Ken Still (3)
Nov 1 Sahara Invitational Nevada 100,000 United States Babe Hiskey (1)
Nov 28 Sea Pines Open Invitational South Carolina 30,000 United States Larry Wood (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Nov 29 Heritage Golf Classic South Carolina 100,000 United States Bob Goalby (10) Invitational
Dec 6 Coral Springs Open Invitational Florida 125,000 United States Bill Garrett (1) New tournament
Dec 13 Bahama Islands Open Bahamas 130,000 United States Doug Sanders (19) New tournament

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
Nov 15 World Cup Argentina 6,300 Australia Bruce Devlin and
Australia David Graham 		Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2][3]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 United States Lee Trevino 157,037
2 United States Billy Casper 147,372
3 Australia Bruce Crampton 142,609
4 United States Jack Nicklaus 142,149
5 United States Arnold Palmer 128,853
6 United States Dick Lotz 125,023
7 United States Frank Beard 124,689
8 United States Larry Hinson 120,897
9 United States Bob Murphy 120,638
10 United States Dave Hill 118,415

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year United States Billy Casper [4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) United States Lee Trevino [5]

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.
  2. ^ a b c d Official money; unofficial win.
  3. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

  1. ^ "1971 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Golf PGA | Top money winners". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. December 15, 1970. p. 24 (C2 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Trevino's $157,037 Tops Golf Earnings". The News-Messenger. Fremont, Ohio. December 15, 1970. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Billy Casper PGA Player of the Year". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. October 28, 1970. p. 31. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Durden, Chauncey (January 28, 1971). "Pars and Pickups". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. p. 53. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.