Wikipedia

1961 PGA Championship

The 1961 PGA Championship was the 43rd PGA Championship, played July 27–31 at the North Course of Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. Jerry Barber, age 45, won his only major title in an 18-hole Monday playoff by one stroke over Don January, 67 to 68. It was the fourth edition as a stroke play event and the first playoff.[1]

1961 PGA Championship
Tournament information
DatesJuly 27–31, 1961
LocationOlympia Fields, Illinois
Course(s)Olympia Fields Country Club
North Course
Organized byPGA of America
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Statistics
Par70
Length6,722 yards (6,147 m)[1]
Field161 players, 65 after cut
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund$64,800[2]
Winner's share$11,000
Champion
United States Jerry Barber
277 (−3), playoff
← 1960
1962 →
Olympia Fields is located in the United States
Olympia Fields
Olympia
Fields
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Location in the United States
Olympia Fields is located in Illinois
Olympia Fields
Olympia
Fields
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Location in Illinois

Rain washed out the second round on Friday afternoon with only about one-third of the field completing their rounds. The scores were scrapped and the second round was replayed on Saturday, with 36 holes on Sunday.[3] Barber led at the midway point with a 136 (−4), two shots ahead of January and Doug Sanders.[4][5][6] A top putter of the era, Barber sank 120 feet (37 m) of putts on the last three holes of the final round to erase a four-stroke deficit to January and force a Monday playoff. At the 72nd hole, January had a two-stroke lead, but put his tee shot into the sand. With Barber on the green but an improbable 60 feet (18 m) away, January played conservatively for the bogey. Barber drained his third lengthy putt in as many holes (birdie-par-birdie) to even it up at the end of regulation.[7]

In the playoff, the two were tied at three-under after 16 holes, following January's birdie. Both had pars at the 17th, which effectively turned the 18th hole into sudden-death. Both tee shots found fairway bunkers, and Barber hit a 3-iron onto the green, 18 feet (5.5 m) from the cup. January found another bunker short of the green and could not save par from 15 feet (4.6 m).[8][9]

At age 45, Barber became the oldest winner of the PGA Championship, whose previous champions were all under age 40, with several at age 39. At the time, the only older major winner was Old Tom Morris at age 46 in 1867. Barber was surpassed in 1968 by Julius Boros at age 48.

It was the third major championship at Olympia Fields Country Club; it previously hosted the PGA Championship in 1925 (Courses 3 & 4) and the U.S. Open in 1928 (Course 4). The four 18-hole courses at Olympia Fields were reduced to two in the 1940s when the club sold half of its property. Course 4 became the North course, and the South course is a composite of holes form the other three.[10] The North Course later hosted the U.S. Open in 2003, won by Jim Furyk.

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, July 27, 1961

Place Player Score To par
1   Art Wall Jr. 67 −3
T2   Jay Hebert 68 −2
  Ernie Vossler
T4   Jerry Barber 69 −1
  Doug Ford
  Bill Heinlein
T7   Buster Cupit 70 E
  Don Fairfield
  Jack Fleck
  Paul Harney
  Shelley Mayfield
  Bob Rosburg
  Doug Sanders

Source:[11][12]

Second round

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Friday, July 28, 1961
Saturday, July 29, 1961

Play in the second round on Friday was ended by heavy rain in the early afternoon, with 54 of the 166 rounds completed. All scores were scrapped and the round was replayed on Saturday.[3]

Place Player Score To par
1   Jerry Barber 69-67=136 −4
T2   Don January 72-66=138 −2
  Doug Sanders 70-68=138
4   Art Wall Jr. 67-72=139 −1
T5   Jay Hebert 68-72=140 E
  Ted Kroll 72-68=140
  Ernie Vossler 68-72=140
T8   Don Fairfield 70-71=141 +1
  Gene Littler 71-70=141
  Bob Rosburg 70-71=141

Source:[5][6]

Third round

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Sunday, July 30, 1961 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1   Don January 72-66-67=205 −5
2   Jerry Barber 69-67-71=207 −3
T3   Wes Ellis 71-71-68=210 E
  Ted Kroll 72-68-70=210
5   Johnny Pott 71-73-67=211 +1
T6   Paul Harney 70-73-69=212 +2
  Jay Hebert 68-72-72=212
  Doug Sanders 70-68-74=212
  Art Wall Jr. 67-72-73=212
T10   Gardner Dickinson 71-71-71=213 +3
  Bob Goalby 73-72-68=213

Final round

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Sunday, July 30, 1961 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1   Jerry Barber 69-67-71-70=277 −3 Playoff
  Don January 72-66-67-72=277
3   Doug Sanders 70-68-74-68=280 E 3,600
4   Ted Kroll 72-68-70-71=281 +1 3,100
T5   Wes Ellis 71-71-68-72=282 +2 2,209
  Doug Ford 69-73-74-66=282
  Gene Littler 71-70-72-69=282
  Arnold Palmer 73-72-69-68=282
  Johnny Pott 71-73-67-71=282
  Art Wall Jr. 67-72-73-70=282

Playoff

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Monday, July 31, 1961

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Jerry Barber 35-32=67 −3 11,000
2   Don January 34-34=68 −2 5,500

Scorecard

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Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 4
  Barber −1 −1 −1 E E E E E E E E −1 −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3
  January E −1 −1 −1 −2 −2 E E −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −3 −3 −2
Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Barber Small and Old but Champion". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. August 1, 1961. p. 16.
  2. ^ "Tournament Info for: 1961 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Downpour washes out second round of PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 29, 1961. p. 8.
  4. ^ "Barber (136) Leads PGA Test". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 31, 1961. p. 4, part 2.
  5. ^ a b "Barber clips par for 67, leads PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 30, 1961. p. 1, section 4.
  6. ^ a b "PGA Tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 30, 1961. p. 4, section 4.
  7. ^ Nichols, Bill (June 11, 2003). "January lives with that sinking feeling". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (Dallas Morning News). p. D-2.
  8. ^ Wright, Alfred (August 7, 1961). "Rain, strain and a win". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
  9. ^ a b "Barber defeats January by 1 stroke to win PGA Championship in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 1, 1961. p. 16.
  10. ^ Chase, Al (June 23, 1946). "Olympia Fields acres expected to be homesites". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. B, part 3.
  11. ^ "Wall grabs PGA lead; Palmer fumes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 28, 1961. p. 16.
  12. ^ "PGA tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 28, 1961. p. 18.
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41°31′16″N 87°41′13″W / 41.521°N 87.687°W / 41.521; -87.687

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