1969 PGA Tour
| Duration | January 9, 1969 – December 7, 1969 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 49 |
| Most wins | 3: Billy Casper Raymond Floyd Dave Hill Jack Nicklaus |
| Money winner | Frank Beard |
| Player of the Year | Orville Moody |
← 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 | 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 |
| 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 ($) |
Winner(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20 | Ryder Cup | England | n/a | Tie ( Team USA retain)
|
Team event |
| Oct 5 | World Cup | Singapore | 6,300 | Orville Moody and Lee Trevino
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | Lee Trevino
|
Money leaders
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[6]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Money winner | Frank Beard
|
| PGA Player of the Year | Orville Moody
|
| Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) | Dave Hill
|
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.