1961 PGA Championship

The 1961 PGA Championship was the 43rd PGA Championship, played July 27–31 at the North Course of Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. Jerry Barber, age 45, won his only major title in an 18-hole Monday playoff by one stroke over Don January, 67 to 68. It was the fourth edition as a stroke play event and the first playoff.[1]

1961 PGA Championship

Tournament information
Dates	July 27–31, 1961
Location	Olympia Fields, Illinois
Course(s)	Olympia Fields Country Club North Course
Organized by	PGA of America
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,722 yards (6,147 m)[1]
Field	161 players, 65 after cut
Cut	148 (+8)
Prize fund	$64,800[2]
Winner's share	$11,000
Champion
Jerry Barber
277 (−3), playoff

Olympia
Fields

Location in the United States

Olympia
Fields

Location in Illinois

Rain washed out the second round on Friday afternoon with only about one-third of the field completing their rounds. The scores were scrapped and the second round was replayed on Saturday, with 36 holes on Sunday.[3] Barber led at the midway point with a 136 (−4), two shots ahead of January and Doug Sanders.[4][5][6] A top putter of the era, Barber sank 120 feet (37 m) of putts on the last three holes of the final round to erase a four-stroke deficit to January and force a Monday playoff. At the 72nd hole, January had a two-stroke lead, but put his tee shot into the sand. With Barber on the green but an improbable 60 feet (18 m) away, January played conservatively for the bogey. Barber drained his third lengthy putt in as many holes (birdie-par-birdie) to even it up at the end of regulation.[7]

In the playoff, the two were tied at three-under after 16 holes, following January's birdie. Both had pars at the 17th, which effectively turned the 18th hole into sudden-death. Both tee shots found fairway bunkers, and Barber hit a 3-iron onto the green, 18 feet (5.5 m) from the cup. January found another bunker short of the green and could not save par from 15 feet (4.6 m).[8][9]

At age 45, Barber became the oldest winner of the PGA Championship, whose previous champions were all under age 40, with several at age 39. At the time, the only older major winner was Old Tom Morris at age 46 in 1867. Barber was surpassed in 1968 by Julius Boros at age 48.

It was the third major championship at Olympia Fields Country Club; it previously hosted the PGA Championship in 1925 (Courses 3 & 4) and the U.S. Open in 1928 (Course 4). The four 18-hole courses at Olympia Fields were reduced to two in the 1940s when the club sold half of its property. Course 4 became the North course, and the South course is a composite of holes form the other three.[10] The North Course later hosted the U.S. Open in 2003, won by Jim Furyk.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Doug Ford	United States	1955	69	73	74	66	282	+2	T5
Jay Hebert	United States	1960	68	72	72	72	284	+4	13
Walter Burkemo	United States	1953	71	71	73	70	285	+5	14
Bob Rosburg	United States	1959	70	71	73	73	287	+7	T19
Sam Snead	United States	1942, 1949, 1951	72	71	71	75	289	+9	T27
Dow Finsterwald	United States	1958	74	74	71	74	293	+13	T41
Jim Ferrier	Australia	1947	73	73	77	72	295	+15	T45
Jack Burke, Jr.	United States	1956	76	71	72	78	297	+17	T52
Chick Harbert	United States	1954	73	75	73	76	297	+17	T52

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Lionel Hebert	United States	1957	75	74	149	+9
Vic Ghezzi	United States	1941	78	75	153	+13
Denny Shute	United States	1936, 1937	76	77	153	+13
Jim Turnesa	United States	1952	79	75	154	+14

Source:[2][6]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, July 27, 1961

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Art Wall Jr.	United States	67	−3
T2	Jay Hebert	United States	68	−2
	Ernie Vossler	United States
T4	Jerry Barber	United States	69	−1
	Doug Ford	United States
	Bill Heinlein	United States
T7	Buster Cupit	United States	70	E
	Don Fairfield	United States
	Jack Fleck	United States
	Paul Harney	United States
	Shelley Mayfield	United States
	Bob Rosburg	United States
	Doug Sanders	United States

Source:[11][12]

Second round

Friday, July 28, 1961
Saturday, July 29, 1961

Play in the second round on Friday was ended by heavy rain in the early afternoon, with 54 of the 166 rounds completed. All scores were scrapped and the round was replayed on Saturday.[3]

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Jerry Barber	United States	69-67=136	−4
T2	Don January	United States	72-66=138	−2
	Doug Sanders	United States	70-68=138
4	Art Wall Jr.	United States	67-72=139	−1
T5	Jay Hebert	United States	68-72=140	E
	Ted Kroll	United States	72-68=140
	Ernie Vossler	United States	68-72=140
T8	Don Fairfield	United States	70-71=141	+1
	Gene Littler	United States	71-70=141
	Bob Rosburg	United States	70-71=141

Source:[5][6]

Third round

Sunday, July 30, 1961 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Don January	United States	72-66-67=205	−5
2	Jerry Barber	United States	69-67-71=207	−3
T3	Wes Ellis	United States	71-71-68=210	E
	Ted Kroll	United States	72-68-70=210
5	Johnny Pott	United States	71-73-67=211	+1
T6	Paul Harney	United States	70-73-69=212	+2
	Jay Hebert	United States	68-72-72=212
	Doug Sanders	United States	70-68-74=212
	Art Wall Jr.	United States	67-72-73=212
T10	Gardner Dickinson	United States	71-71-71=213	+3
	Bob Goalby	United States	73-72-68=213

Final round

Sunday, July 30, 1961 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Jerry Barber	United States	69-67-71-70=277	−3	Playoff
	Don January	United States	72-66-67-72=277
3	Doug Sanders	United States	70-68-74-68=280	E	3,600
4	Ted Kroll	United States	72-68-70-71=281	+1	3,100
T5	Wes Ellis	United States	71-71-68-72=282	+2	2,209
	Doug Ford	United States	69-73-74-66=282
	Gene Littler	United States	71-70-72-69=282
	Arnold Palmer	United States	73-72-69-68=282
	Johnny Pott	United States	71-73-67-71=282
	Art Wall Jr.	United States	67-72-73-70=282

Playoff

Monday, July 31, 1961

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Jerry Barber	United States	35-32=67	−3	11,000
2	Don January	United States	34-34=68	−2	5,500

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	3	4	4	4	4
Barber	−1	−1	−1	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	−1	−1	−2	−3	−3	−3	−3
January	E	−1	−1	−1	−2	−2	E	E	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−3	−3	−2

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:[9]

References

1. "Barber Small and Old but Champion". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. August 1, 1961. p. 16.
2. "Tournament Info for: 1961 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
3. "Downpour washes out second round of PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 29, 1961. p. 8.
4. "Barber (136) Leads PGA Test". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 31, 1961. p. 4, part 2.
5. "Barber clips par for 67, leads PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 30, 1961. p. 1, section 4.
6. "PGA Tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 30, 1961. p. 4, section 4.
7. Nichols, Bill (June 11, 2003). "January lives with that sinking feeling". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (Dallas Morning News). p. D-2.
8. Wright, Alfred (August 7, 1961). "Rain, strain and a win". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
9. "Barber defeats January by 1 stroke to win PGA Championship in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 1, 1961. p. 16.
10. Chase, Al (June 23, 1946). "Olympia Fields acres expected to be homesites". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. B, part 3.
11. "Wall grabs PGA lead; Palmer fumes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 28, 1961. p. 16.
12. "PGA tournament scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 28, 1961. p. 18.

External links

• PGA Media Guide 2012
• GolfCompendium.com – 1961 PGA Championship
• PGA.com – 1961 PGA Championship