1981 LPGA Tour

The 1981 LPGA Tour was the 32nd season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 29 to November 8. The season consisted of 36 official money events. Donna Caponi won the most tournaments, five. Beth Daniel led the money list with earnings of $206,998, becoming the first player to win over $200,000 in a season.

The season saw the first tournament with a $50,000 first prize, the World Championship of Women's Golf. There were five first-time winners in 1981: Patty Hayes, Kathy Hite, Cathy Reynolds, Patty Sheehan, and Beth Solomon.

The tournament results and award winners are listed below.

Contents

Tournament results

The following table shows all the official money events for the 1981 season.[1] "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 Purse ($) 1st prize ($)
Feb 1 Whirlpool Championship of Deer Creek Florida Sandra Palmer (17) 284 (-8) 100,000 15,000
Feb 8 Elizabeth Arden Classic Florida Sally Little (8) 283 (-5) 125,000 18,750
Feb 15 S&H Golf Classic Florida JoAnne Carner (30) 215 (-1) 100,000 15,000
Feb 22 Bent Tree Ladies Classic Florida Amy Alcott (14) 276 (-12) 150,000 22,500
Mar 1 Olympia Gold Classic California Sally Little (9) 142 (-4)^ 150,000 22,500
Mar 8 Arizona Copper Classic Arizona Nancy Lopez (21) 278 (-14) 125,000 18,750
Mar 15 Sun City Classic Arizona Patty Hayes (1) 277 (-15) 100,000 15,000
Mar 22 LPGA Desert Inn Pro-Am Nevada Donna Caponi (20) 286 (-3) 200,000 30,000
Mar 29 Women's Kemper Open California Pat Bradley (8) 284 (E) 175,000 26,250
Apr 5 Colgate-Dinah Shore California Nancy Lopez (22) 277 (-11) 250,000 37,500
Apr 12 American Defender/WRAL Golf Classic North Carolina Donna Caponi (21) 208 (-8) 125,000 18,750
Apr 19 Florida Lady Citrus Florida Beth Daniel (6) 281 (-7) 100,000 15,000
Apr 26 Birmingham Classic Alabama Beth Solomon (1) 206 (-10) 100,000 15,000
May 3 CPC Women's International South Carolina Sally Little (10) 287 (-1) 125,000 18,750
May 10 Lady Michelob Georgia Amy Alcott (15) 209 (-8) 125,000 18,750
May 17 Coca-Cola Classic New Jersey Kathy Whitworth (81) 211 (-8) 125,000 18,750
May 24 Corning Classic New York Kathy Hite (1) 282 (-6) 125,000 18,750
May 31 Golden Lights Championship Connecticut Cathy Reynolds (1) 285 (-3) 125,000 18,750
Jun 7 McDonald's Classic Pennsylvania Sandra Post (8) 282 (-6) 150,000 22,500
Jun 14 LPGA Championship Ohio Donna Caponi (22) 280 (-8) 150,000 22,500
Jun 21 Lady Keystone Open Pennsylvania JoAnne Carner (31) 203 (-13) 125,000 18,750
Jun 28 The Sarah Coventry New York Nancy Lopez (23) 285 (-7) 125,000 18,750
Jul 5 Peter Jackson Classic Canada Jan Stephenson (5) 278 (-10) 200,000 30,000
Jul 12 Mayflower Classic Indiana Debbie Austin (7) 279 (-9) 150,000 22,500
Jul 19 WUI Classic New York Donna Caponi (23) 282 (-2) 125,000 18,750
Jul 26 U.S. Women's Open Illinois Pat Bradley (9) 279 (-9) 150,000 22,000
Aug 2 Boston Five Classic Massachusetts Donna Caponi (24) 276 (-12) 150,000 22,500
Aug 9 West Virginia Bank Classic West Virginia Hollis Stacy (8) 212 (-4) 125,000 18,750
Aug 16 Mary Kay Classic Texas Jan Stephenson (6) 198 (-18) 155,000 23,250
Aug 23 World Championship of Women's Golf Ohio Beth Daniel (7) 284 (-4) 150,000 50,000
Aug 30 Columbia Savings LPGA Classic Colorado JoAnne Carner (32) 278 (-10) 150,000 22,500
Sep 7 Rail Charity Golf Classic Illinois JoAnne Carner (33) 205 (-11) 125,000 18,750
Sep 13 United Virginia Bank Classic Virginia Jan Stephenson (7) 205 (-14) 125,000 18,750
Sep 20 Henredon Classic North Carolina Sandra Haynie (40) 281 (-7) 165,000 24,750
Oct 11 Inamori Classic California Hollis Stacy (9) 286 (-6) 150,000 22,500
Nov 8 Mazda Japan Classic Japan Patty Sheehan (1) 213 (-9) 250,000 30,000

^ - weather-shortened tournament

Awards

Award Winner Country
Money winner Beth Daniel (2)  United States
Scoring leader (Vare Trophy) JoAnne Carner (3)  United States
Player of the Year JoAnne Carner (2)  United States
Rookie of the Year Patty Sheehan  United States

References

External links