1971 PGA Tour

1971 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 7, 1971 (1971-01-07) – December 12, 1971 (1971-12-12)
Number of official events44
Most winsUnited States Lee Trevino (6)
Money listUnited States Jack Nicklaus
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Lee Trevino
← 1970
1972 →

The 1971 PGA Tour was the 56th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the third season since separating from the PGA of America.

Dave Hill antitrust lawsuit

At the Colonial National Invitation, Dave Hill shot rounds of 77-85 to miss the cut. On his last hole, Hill threw a ball out of a sand trap.[1] Hill was disqualified but it was for his signing a scorecard with an incorrect score on it.[2] When Hill went to play in his next tournament, the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, Hill was informed that he was being fined $500 for conduct unbecoming a professional golfer.[3] Hill was required to pay the fine before teeing it up in the tournament. He did so, but less than a week later, Hill filed a one-million dollar antitrust suit against the PGA Tour.[4] In response, the tour put Hill on probation for one year.[5]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1971 season.[6]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$) 		Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 10 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open California 110,000 United States Bob Lunn (5)
Jan 17 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 135,000 United States Tom Shaw (3) Pro-Am
Jan 24 Phoenix Open Invitational Arizona 125,000 United States Miller Barber (6)
Jan 31 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational California 150,000 United States George Archer (7)
Feb 7 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 200,000 United States Tom Shaw (4)
Apr 11 United Air Lines – Ontario Open California 25,000 United States Fred Marti (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Feb 14 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 140,000 United States Arnold Palmer (58) Pro-Am
Feb 22 Tucson Open Invitational Arizona 110,000 United States J. C. Snead (1)
Feb 28 PGA Championship Florida 200,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (34) Major championship
Mar 7 Doral-Eastern Open Invitational Florida 150,000 United States J. C. Snead (2)
Mar 14 Florida Citrus Invitational Florida 150,000 United States Arnold Palmer (59)
Mar 21 Greater Jacksonville Open Florida 125,000 South Africa Gary Player (14)
Mar 28 National Airlines Open Invitational Florida 200,000 South Africa Gary Player (15)
Apr 4 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 190,000 United States Buddy Allin (1)
Apr 11 Masters Tournament Georgia 125,000 United States Charles Coody (3) Major championship
Apr 11 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 35,000 United States Roy Pace (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Apr 18 Monsanto Open Florida 150,000 United States Gene Littler (23)
Apr 25 Tournament of Champions California 165,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (35) Winners-only event
Apr 25 Tallahassee Open Invitational Florida 60,000 United States Lee Trevino (6) Alternate event
May 2 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana 125,000 United States Frank Beard (11)
May 9 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 125,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (36)
May 16 Houston Champions International Texas 125,000 United States Hubert Green (1)
May 16 East Ridge Classic Louisiana 25,000 United States Wilf Homenuik (n/a) Second Tour[b]
May 23 Colonial National Invitation Texas 125,000 United States Gene Littler (24) Invitational
May 23 Maumelle Open Arkansas 25,000 United States Tom Ulozas (n/a) Second Tour[b]
May 30 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 175,000 United States Lee Trevino (7)
Jun 6 Atlanta Classic Georgia 125,000 United States Gardner Dickinson (7)
Jun 13 Kemper Open North Carolina 150,000 United States Tom Weiskopf (3)
Jun 13 Kemper–Asheville Open Invitational North Carolina 25,000 United States Charles Owens (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Jun 21 U.S. Open Pennsylvania 190,000 United States Lee Trevino (8) Major championship
Jun 27 Cleveland Open Ohio 150,000 United States Bobby Mitchell (1)
Jul 4 Canadian Open Canada 150,000 United States Lee Trevino (9)
Jul 10 The Open Championship England £45,000 United States Lee Trevino (10) Major championship[c]
Jul 11 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 125,000 United States Dave Eichelberger (1)
Jul 18 Western Open Illinois 150,000 Australia Bruce Crampton (9)
Jul 25 Westchester Classic New York 250,000 United States Arnold Palmer (60)
Aug 2 National Team Championship Pennsylvania 200,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (37) and
United States Arnold Palmer (61)		 Team event
Aug 8 American Golf Classic Ohio 150,000 United States Jerry Heard (1)
Aug 15 Massachusetts Classic Massachusetts 165,000 United States Dave Stockton (5)
Aug 22 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 150,000 United States Tom Weiskopf (4)
Aug 29 Liggett & Myers Open Match Play Championship North Carolina 175,000 United States DeWitt Weaver (1) New tournament
Limited-field event
Sep 6 Greater Hartford Open Invitational Connecticut 110,000 United States George Archer (8)
Sep 12 Southern Open Invitational Georgia 100,000 United States Johnny Miller (1)
Sep 19 Quad Cities Open Invitational Iowa 25,000 United States Deane Beman (n/a) New tournament
Second Tour[b]
Sep 26 Robinson Open Golf Classic Illinois 100,000 United States Labron Harris Jr. (1)
Oct 24 Kaiser International Open Invitational California 150,000 United States Billy Casper (48)
Oct 31 Sahara Invitational Nevada 135,000 United States Lee Trevino (11)
Nov 21 Azalea Open Invitational North Carolina 35,000 United States George Johnson (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Nov 27 Sea Pines Open Invitational South Carolina 30,000 United States Charlie Sifford (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Nov 28 Sea Pines Heritage Classic South Carolina 110,000 United States Hale Irwin (1) Invitational
Dec 6 Walt Disney World Open Invitational Florida 150,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (38) New tournament
Dec 12 Bahamas National Open Bahamas 130,000 United States Bob Goalby (11)

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
Sep 18 Ryder Cup Missouri n/a Team USA Team event
Nov 14 World Cup Florida 6,300 United States Jack Nicklaus and
United States Lee Trevino 		Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy United States Jack Nicklaus

Money list

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

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 United States Jack Nicklaus 244,491
2 United States Lee Trevino 231,202
3 United States Arnold Palmer 209,604
4 United States George Archer 147,769
5 South Africa Gary Player 120,917
6 United States Miller Barber 117,359
7 United States Jerry Heard 112,389
8 United States Frank Beard 112,338
9 United States Dave Eichelberger 108,312
10 United States Billy Casper 107,276

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year United States Lee Trevino [8]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) United States Lee Trevino [9]

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 e f g h Official money; unofficial win.
  3. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

  1. ^ "Dave Hill carries squabble to court". Times Daily. Florence, Alabama. May 29, 1971. p. 2 (3 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  2. ^ "Hill disqualified". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. May 22, 1971. p. 10 (18 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ^ "Hill pays fine, in Memphis field". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. May 27, 1971. p. 20 (3-D in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "Dave Hill Files $1 Million Damage Suit". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. May 29, 1971. p. 10 (17 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ "Hill Draws Year Probation". The Portsmouth Times. Portsmouth, Ohio. June 3, 1971. p. 10 (19 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ "1972 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "Nicklaus Tops Golf $$ Record". Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. December 17, 1971. p. 27 (28 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Trevino PGA Player Of The Year". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. November 13, 1971. p. 16. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Morin, Flip (December 31, 1974). "Trevino To Be Honored By Texas Enshrinement". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. p. 9. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.