| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 6–9, 1981 |
| Location | Duluth, Georgia 34°00′14″N 84°11′35″W / 34.004°N 84.193°W / 34.004; -84.193 |
| Course(s) | Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,070 yards (6,465 m) |
| Field | 147 players, 78 after cut[1] |
| Cut | 147 (+7)[2] |
| Prize fund | $401,050 |
| Winner's share | $60,000 |
| Champion | |
 Larry Nelson | |
| 273 (−7) | |
| Location map | |
  Atlanta Athletic Club Location in the United States Show map of the United States Atlanta Athletic Club Location in Georgia Show map of Georgia | |
← 1980
1982 →
| |
The 1981 PGA Championship was the 63rd PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at Atlanta Athletic ClubinDuluth, Georgia, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. Larry Nelson won the first of his three major titles, four strokes ahead of runner-up Fuzzy Zoeller.[3][4]
Lee Trevino, 1974 champion, did not sign his scorecard after an opening round 74 and was disqualified after turning himself in.[5][6] Bob Murphy led after each of the first two rounds,[7][8] but was 8-over on the weekend and finished ten strokes back in 18th place.[3] After a second consecutive 66 on Saturday, Nelson held the 54-hole lead, four strokes ahead of Zoeller[9]
Tom Watson was the PGA Tour money list leader in August 1981, but missed the cut by a stroke.[8]
It was the second major held at the Highlands Course, which hosted the U.S. Openin1976. The PGA Championship returned in 2001 and 2011.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 456 | 458 | 469 | 210 | 546 | 445 | 185 | 422 | 419 | 3,610 | 374 | 470 | 510 | 390 | 415 | 215 | 410 | 213 | 463 | 3,460 | 7,070 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Thursday, August 6, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Murphy |
66 | −4 |
| T2 | Bob Eastwood |
67 | −3 |
| Mark Lye
| |||
| T4 | Rex Caldwell |
68 | −2 |
| Vance Heafner
| |||
| Andy North
| |||
| T7 | Charles Coody |
69 | −1 |
| Lon Hinkle
| |||
| Roger Maltbie
| |||
| Dan Pohl
| |||
| Ron Streck
|
Source:[10]
Friday, August 7, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Murphy |
66-69=135 | −5 |
| T2 | Bob Eastwood |
67-69=136 | −4 |
| Larry Nelson |
70-66=136 | ||
| Dan Pohl |
69-67=136 | ||
| 5 | Andy North |
69-68=137 | −3 |
| T6 | Vance Heafner |
68-70=138 | −2 |
| Tom Kite |
71-67=138 | ||
| Fuzzy Zoeller |
70-68=138 | ||
| T9 | Gil Morgan |
70-69=139 | −1 |
| Jack Nicklaus |
71-68=139 | ||
| Jerry Pate |
71-68=139 |
Source:[11]
Saturday, August 8, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Nelson |
70-66-66=202 | −8 |
| 2 | Fuzzy Zoeller |
70-68-68=206 | −4 |
| T3 | Tom Kite |
71-67-69=207 | −3 |
| Andy North |
69-68-70=207 | ||
| T5 | Bob Eastwood |
67-69-72=208 | −2 |
| Vance Heafner |
68-70-70=208 | ||
| Bob Murphy |
66-69-73=208 | ||
 Greg Norman |
73-67-68=208 | ||
| T9 |  Isao Aoki |
75-68-66=209 | −1 |
| Jerry Pate |
71-68-70=209 | ||
| Dan Pohl |
69-67-73=209 |
Source:[12]
Sunday, August 9, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Nelson |
70-66-66-71=273 | −7 | 60,000 |
| 2 | Fuzzy Zoeller |
70-68-68-71=277 | −3 | 40,000 |
| 3 | Dan Pohl |
69-67-73-69=278 | −2 | 25,000 |
| T4 | Isao Aoki |
75-68-66-70=279 | −1 | 13,146 |
| Keith Fergus |
71-71-69-68=279 | |||
| Bob Gilder |
74-69-70-66=279 | |||
| Tom Kite |
71-67-69-72=279 | |||
| Bruce Lietzke |
70-70-71-68=279 | |||
| Jack Nicklaus |
71-68-71-69=279 | |||
| Greg Norman |
73-67-68-71=279 |
Source:[1]
