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.

1981 LPGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 29, 1981 (1981-01-29) – November 8, 1981 (1981-11-08)
Number of official events36
Most wins5 United States Donna Caponi
Money leaderUnited States Beth Daniel
Player of the YearUnited States JoAnne Carner
Rookie of the YearUnited States Patty Sheehan
1980
1982

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.

Tournament results edit

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 edit

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 edit

External links edit