The 1969 PGA Tour was the 54th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the first season since separating from the PGA of America.
PGA of America separation
The 1969 season is generally regarded as the first season of an independent PGA Tour.[1] The tour began to break off from the PGA of America in August 1968. The players formed a Tournament Players Division within the PGA of America, "a freestanding corporation run by a 10-member tournament policy board of four players, three PGA executives and three consulting businessmen."[2]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1969 season.[3]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 12 | Los Angeles Open | California | 100,000 |  Charlie Sifford (2) |
|
| Jan 12 | Alameda County Open | California | 50,000 | Dick Lotz (1) |
New tournament Alternate event |
| Jan 20 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | California | 67,500 | Miller Barber (4) |
|
| Jan 27 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | 125,000 | George Archer (6) |
Pro-Am |
| Feb 2 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | California | 150,000 | Jack Nicklaus (28) |
|
| Feb 9 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | 100,000 | Billy Casper (41) |
Pro-Am |
| Feb 16 | Phoenix Open Invitational | Arizona | 100,000 | Gene Littler (21) |
|
| Feb 23 | Tucson Open Invitational | Arizona | 100,000 | Lee Trevino (3) |
|
| Mar 2 | Doral Open Invitational | Florida | 150,000 | Tom Shaw (1) |
|
| Mar 9 | Florida Citrus Open Invitational | Florida | 115,000 | Ken Still (1) |
|
| Mar 18 | Monsanto Open Invitational | Florida | 100,000 | Jim Colbert (1) |
|
| Mar 23 | Greater Jacksonville Open | Florida | 100,000 | Raymond Floyd (3) |
|
| Mar 30 | National Airlines Open Invitational | Florida | 200,000 | Bunky Henry (1) |
New tournament |
| Apr 6 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | 160,000 | Gene Littler (22) |
|
| Apr 13 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | 100,000 | George Archer (7) |
Major championship |
| Apr 14 | Magnolia Classic | Mississippi | 20,000 | Larry Mowry (n/a) |
Second Tour[b] |
| Apr 20 | Tournament of Champions | California | 150,000 |  Gary Player (12) |
Winners-only event |
| Apr 20 | Azalea Open Invitational | North Carolina | 25,000 | Dale Douglass (1) |
Alternate event |
| Apr 20 | Tallahassee Open Invitational | Florida | 25,000 | Chuck Courtney (2) |
New tournament Alternate event |
| Apr 27 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | 100,000 |  Bruce Devlin (4) |
|
| May 4 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | Louisiana | 100,000 | Larry Hinson (1) |
|
| May 11 | Texas Open Invitational | Texas | 100,000 | Deane Beman (1) |
|
| May 18 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | 125,000 | Gardner Dickinson (6) |
Invitational |
| May 25 | Atlanta Classic | Georgia | 115,000 | Bert Yancey (5) |
|
| Jun 1 | Memphis Open Invitational | Tennessee | 150,000 | Dave Hill (5) |
|
| Jun 8 | Western Open | Illinois | 130,000 | Billy Casper (42) |
|
| Jun 15 | U.S. Open | Texas | 205,000 | Orville Moody (1) |
Major championship |
| Jun 22 | Kemper Open | North Carolina | 150,000 | Dale Douglass (2) |
|
| Jun 29 | Cleveland Open Invitational | Ohio | 110,000 | Charles Coody (2) |
|
| Jul 6 | Buick Open Invitational | Michigan | 125,000 | Dave Hill (6) |
|
| Jul 12 | The Open Championship | England | £30,000 |  Tony Jacklin (2) |
Major championship[c] |
| Jul 13 | Minnesota Golf Classic | Minnesota | 100,000 | Frank Beard (7) |
Alternate event |
| Jul 20 | IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic | Pennsylvania | 150,000 | Dave Hill (7) |
|
| Jul 27 | American Golf Classic | Ohio | 125,000 | Raymond Floyd (4) |
|
| Aug 3 | Westchester Classic | New York | 250,000 | Frank Beard (8) |
|
| Aug 10 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | 100,000 | Ken Still (2) |
|
| Aug 17 | PGA Championship | Ohio | 175,000 | Raymond Floyd (5) |
Major championship |
| Aug 17 | Indian Ridge Hospital Open Invitational | Massachusetts | 37,000 | Monty Kaser (1) |
New tournament Alternate event |
| Aug 24 | AVCO Golf Classic | Massachusetts | 150,000 | Tom Shaw (2) |
New tournament |
| Sep 2 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | Connecticut | 100,000 | Bob Lunn (3) |
|
| Sep 7 | Michigan Golf Classic | Michigan | 100,000 | Larry Ziegler (1) |
New tournament |
| Sep 28 | Alcan Open | Oregon | 275,000 | Billy Casper (43) |
New to PGA Tour |
| Sep 28 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | Illinois | 75,000 | Bob Goalby (9) |
Alternate event |
| Oct 19 | Sahara Invitational | Nevada | 100,000 | Jack Nicklaus (29) |
|
| Oct 26 | San Francisco Open Invitational | California | 100,000 | Steve Spray (1) |
|
| Nov 3 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | California | 140,000 | Jack Nicklaus (30) |
|
| Nov 9 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | 125,000 | Bruce Crampton (7) |
|
| Nov 30 | Heritage Golf Classic | South Carolina | 100,000 | Arnold Palmer (55) |
New tournament Invitational |
| Dec 7 | Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic | Florida | 125,000 | Arnold Palmer (56) |
New tournament |
| Dec 7 | West End Classic | Bahamas | 25,000 | Jim Wiechers (1) |
Alternate event |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse ($) |
Winner(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20 | Ryder Cup | England | n/a | Tie ( Team USA retain)
|
Team event |
| Oct 5 | World Cup | Singapore | 6,300 | Orville Moody and Lee Trevino
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | Lee Trevino
|
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[4]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Beard |
175,223 |
| 2 | Dave Hill |
156,432 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus |
140,167 |
| 4 | Gary Player |
123,897 |
| 5 | Bruce Crampton |
118,955 |
| 6 | Gene Littler |
112,737 |
| 7 | Lee Trevino |
112,417 |
| 8 | Raymond Floyd |
109,956 |
| 9 | Arnold Palmer |
105,128 |
| 10 | Billy Casper |
104,689 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| PGA Player of the Year | Orville Moody |
[5] |
| Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) | Dave Hill |
[6] |
Notes
- ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
- ^ Official money; unofficial win.
- ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- ^ "Pro golf struggle is settled; PGA forms tourney group". Milwaukee Journal. December 14, 1968. p. 18. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ Gorant, Jim (August 8, 2018). "War for the Tour: The day the PGA Championship nearly died". Golf Magazine. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "1969 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Beard top PGA money man". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 10, 1969. p. 32 (C-4 in paper). Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Golfer of the year". The Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Associated Press. November 19, 1969. p. 13. Retrieved March 20, 2013 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "DePaula Indicted In Ring Probe | Other Sports". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. December 17, 1969. p. 72 (4-D in paper). Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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