1981 LPGA Tour

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 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.

Tournament results

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

^ - weather-shortened tournament

Awards

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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

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