1969 PGA Tour
Duration | January 9, 1969 | – December 7, 1969
---|---|
Number of official events | 49 |
Most wins | 3:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Money winner | ![]() |
Player of the Year | ![]() |
← 1968 1970 → |
The 1969 PGA Tour season was played from January 9 to December 7. The season consisted of 49 official money events. Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, Dave Hill, and Jack Nicklaus won the most tournaments, three each, and there were 14 first-time winners. Frank Beard was the leading money winner with earnings of $164,707. Orville Moody was voted the PGA Player of the Year[1] and Dave Hill won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.
This is generally regarded as the first season of an independent PGA Tour.[2] The tour began to break off from the PGA of America in August 1968. The players formed a Tournament Players Division within the PGA of America, "a freestanding corporation run by a 10-member tournament policy board of four players, three PGA executives and three consulting businessmen."[3]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1969 season.[4][5]
Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 12 | Los Angeles Open | California | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Jan 12 | Alameda County Open | California | 50,000 | ![]() |
New tournament Alternate event |
Jan 20 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | California | 67,500 | ![]() |
|
Jan 27 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | 125,000 | ![]() |
Pro-Am |
Feb 2 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | California | 150,000 | ![]() |
|
Feb 9 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | 100,000 | ![]() |
Pro-Am |
Feb 16 | Phoenix Open Invitational | Arizona | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Feb 23 | Tucson Open Invitational | Arizona | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Mar 2 | Doral Open Invitational | Florida | 150,000 | ![]() |
|
Mar 9 | Florida Citrus Open Invitational | Florida | 115,000 | ![]() |
|
Mar 18 | Monsanto Open Invitational | Florida | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Mar 23 | Greater Jacksonville Open | Florida | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Mar 30 | National Airlines Open Invitational | Florida | 200,000 | ![]() |
New tournament |
Apr 6 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | 160,000 | ![]() |
|
Apr 13 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | 100,000 | ![]() |
Major championship |
Apr 14 | Magnolia Classic | Mississippi | 20,000 | ![]() |
Second Tour[b] |
Apr 20 | Tournament of Champions | California | 150,000 | ![]() |
Winners-only event |
Apr 20 | Azalea Open Invitational | North Carolina | 25,000 | ![]() |
Alternate event |
Apr 20 | Tallahassee Open Invitational | Florida | 25,000 | ![]() |
New tournament Alternate event |
Apr 27 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
May 4 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | Louisiana | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
May 11 | Texas Open Invitational | Texas | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
May 18 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | 125,000 | ![]() |
Invitational |
May 25 | Atlanta Classic | Georgia | 115,000 | ![]() |
|
Jun 1 | Memphis Open Invitational | Tennessee | 150,000 | ![]() |
|
Jun 8 | Western Open | Illinois | 130,000 | ![]() |
|
Jun 15 | U.S. Open | Texas | 205,000 | ![]() |
Major championship |
Jun 22 | Kemper Open | North Carolina | 150,000 | ![]() |
|
Jun 29 | Cleveland Open Invitational | Ohio | 110,000 | ![]() |
|
Jul 6 | Buick Open Invitational | Michigan | 125,000 | ![]() |
|
Jul 12 | The Open Championship | England | £30,000 | ![]() |
Major championship |
Jul 13 | Minnesota Golf Classic | Minnesota | 100,000 | ![]() |
Alternate event |
Jul 20 | IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic | Pennsylvania | 150,000 | ![]() |
|
Jul 27 | American Golf Classic | Ohio | 125,000 | ![]() |
|
Aug 3 | Westchester Classic | New York | 250,000 | ![]() |
|
Aug 10 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Aug 17 | PGA Championship | Ohio | 175,000 | ![]() |
Major championship |
Aug 17 | Indian Ridge Hospital Open Invitational | Massachusetts | 37,000 | ![]() |
New tournament Alternate event |
Aug 24 | AVCO Golf Classic | Massachusetts | 150,000 | ![]() |
New tournament |
Sep 2 | Greater Hartford Open Invitational | Connecticut | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Sep 7 | Michigan Golf Classic | Michigan | 100,000 | ![]() |
New tournament |
Sep 28 | Alcan Open | Oregon | 275,000 | ![]() |
New to PGA Tour |
Sep 28 | Robinson Open Golf Classic | Illinois | 75,000 | ![]() |
Alternate event |
Oct 19 | Sahara Invitational | Nevada | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Oct 26 | San Francisco Open Invitational | California | 100,000 | ![]() |
|
Nov 3 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | California | 140,000 | ![]() |
|
Nov 9 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | 125,000 | ![]() |
|
Nov 30 | Heritage Golf Classic | South Carolina | 100,000 | ![]() |
New tournament Invitational |
Dec 7 | Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic | Florida | 125,000 | ![]() |
New tournament |
Dec 7 | West End Classic | Bahamas | 25,000 | ![]() |
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 ($) |
Winner(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 20 | Ryder Cup | England | n/a | Tie (![]() |
Team event |
Oct 5 | World Cup | Singapore | 6,300 | ![]() ![]() |
Team event |
World Cup Individual Trophy | ![]() |
Money leaders
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[6]
Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
175,223 |
2 | ![]() |
156,432 |
3 | ![]() |
140,167 |
4 | ![]() |
123,897 |
5 | ![]() |
118,955 |
Awards
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Money winner | ![]() |
PGA Player of the Year | ![]() |
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) | ![]() |
Notes
References
- ^ "Golfer of the year". The Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. AP. November 19, 1969. p. 13. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
- ^ "Pro golf struggle is settled; PGA forms tourney group". Milwaukee Journal. December 14, 1968. p. 18.
- ^ Gorant, Jim (August 8, 2018). "War for the Tour: The day the PGA Championship nearly died". Golf.com.
- ^ "1969 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Johnson, Sal; Seanor, Dave, eds. (2009). The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 675–82. ISBN 978-1-60239-302-8.
- ^ Rew, Karen (December 26, 1969). "Frank Beard Boosting Business of Pro Golf". Mansfield News Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. AP. p. 23.