1981 PGA Championship

1981 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesAugust 6–9, 1981
LocationDuluth, Georgia
34°00′14″N 84°11′35″W / 34.004°N 84.193°W / 34.004; -84.193
Course(s)Atlanta Athletic Club,
Highlands Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,070 yards (6,465 m)
Field147 players, 78 after cut[1]
Cut147 (+7)[2]
Prize fund$401,050
Winner's share$60,000
Champion
United States Larry Nelson
273 (−7)
Location map
Atlanta Athletic Club is located in the United States
Atlanta Athletic Club
Atlanta Athletic Club
Location in the United States
Atlanta Athletic Club is located in Georgia
Atlanta Athletic Club
Atlanta Athletic Club
Location in Georgia
← 1980
1982 →

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.

Course layout

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 456 458 469 210 546 445 185 422 419 3,610 374 470 510 390 415 215 410 213 463 3,460 7,070
Par 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 35 4 4 5 4 4 3 4 3 4 35 70

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 6, 1981

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Bob Murphy 66 −4
T2 United States Bob Eastwood 67 −3
United States Mark Lye
T4 United States Rex Caldwell 68 −2
United States Vance Heafner
United States Andy North
T7 United States Charles Coody 69 −1
United States Lon Hinkle
United States Roger Maltbie
United States Dan Pohl
United States Ron Streck

Source:[10]

Second round

Friday, August 7, 1981

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Bob Murphy 66-69=135 −5
T2 United States Bob Eastwood 67-69=136 −4
United States Larry Nelson 70-66=136
United States Dan Pohl 69-67=136
5 United States Andy North 69-68=137 −3
T6 United States Vance Heafner 68-70=138 −2
United States Tom Kite 71-67=138
United States Fuzzy Zoeller 70-68=138
T9 United States Gil Morgan 70-69=139 −1
United States Jack Nicklaus 71-68=139
United States Jerry Pate 71-68=139

Source:[11]

Third round

Saturday, August 8, 1981

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Larry Nelson 70-66-66=202 −8
2 United States Fuzzy Zoeller 70-68-68=206 −4
T3 United States Tom Kite 71-67-69=207 −3
United States Andy North 69-68-70=207
T5 United States Bob Eastwood 67-69-72=208 −2
United States Vance Heafner 68-70-70=208
United States Bob Murphy 66-69-73=208
Australia Greg Norman 73-67-68=208
T9 Japan Isao Aoki 75-68-66=209 −1
United States Jerry Pate 71-68-70=209
United States Dan Pohl 69-67-73=209

Source:[12]

Final round

Sunday, August 9, 1981

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 United States Larry Nelson 70-66-66-71=273 −7 60,000
2 United States Fuzzy Zoeller 70-68-68-71=277 −3 40,000
3 United States Dan Pohl 69-67-73-69=278 −2 25,000
T4 Japan Isao Aoki 75-68-66-70=279 −1 13,146
United States Keith Fergus 71-71-69-68=279
United States Bob Gilder 74-69-70-66=279
United States Tom Kite 71-67-69-72=279
United States Bruce Lietzke 70-70-71-68=279
United States Jack Nicklaus 71-68-71-69=279
Australia Greg Norman 73-67-68-71=279

Source:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "1981 PGA Championship". databasegolf.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1981 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Kindred, Dave (August 9, 1981). "Nelson tears up 'choke' label and PGA". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 17, 1981). "A drive down easy street". Sports Illustrated. p. 48.
  5. ^ "Golf's honest men". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. August 7, 1981. p. 2D.
  6. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 7, 1981). "Trevino disqualified, Murphy leads PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  7. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 8, 1981). "Murphy grabs slim PGA lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 9.
  8. ^ a b "Murphy's fat, happy, and leading". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1981. p. 1B.
  9. ^ "Nelson's 66 captures PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 9, 1981. p. 1B.
  10. ^ Kindred, Dave (August 7, 1981). "Murphy's accuracy pays off". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1D.
  11. ^ "Murphy's fat, happy and leading". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. August 8, 1981. p. 1B.
  12. ^ "Nelson's 66 captures PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. August 9, 1981. p. 1B.