Frank's Humble Abode: 1981 Pensacola Open, the Forgotten Season-Ending Championship Sources: 1982 PGA Tour Media Guide Golf Digest Magazine, February 1982
Introduction
There was once a time when U.S. PGA Tour players did not play for such things as Official World Rankings, Fall Finish Series or a Grand Prix Series by
Seiko or Nabisco. And certainly not a series like the Fed Ex Cup, which started in 2007. Nor did these players compete in season-ending events such as
the Tour Championship.
Instead, players competed for such coveted end-of-the-year titles as the Vardon Trophy {Scoring Average} and the Arnold Palmer Award {annual Leading
Money Winner}, titles that are still valued today - depending on the player, of course! The Vardon and Palmer awards shared the spotlight with the PGA
of America's Player of the Year award, which is still awarded today, but whose significance has been diminished because of the PGA Tour's own Player
the Year award.
Before 1987 and the arrival of the Tour Championship, the PGA Tour's final official event of the season was not some big-money, limited field type of
championship, but rather just a regular Tour event, with a small purse as well as a less than stellar field of players.
For a period of nine years, from 1976 to 1984 {except 1982}, the last official event on the PGA Tour's schedule was the Pensacola Open. For just about
every one of those years, all major end-of-the-season honors were already decided by the time the Tour rolled into this small Florida Panhandle town.
Usually, the only noteworthy thing at stake was a chance to finish among the Tour's Top 125 Money Winners {Top 60, prior to 1982} and thus be fully
exempt for the next Tour season.
But on a mid-October weekend in 1981, the Pensacola Open was transformed into a major season-ending event, with many of the most well known
golfers of that time competing for some of the year's biggest honors.
1981: The year it really meant something
1981 was a mixed bag season, with no one player dominating either the Major Championships or the whole Tour itself. In terms of events won, Bill Rogers
had emerged as the clear leader here, posting official PGA Tour wins in the Heritage Classic, World Series of Golf and Texas Open. Rogers also won the
tournament of his life, the British Open Championship at Royal St. George's.
At this point in time, the PGA Tour did not count the British Open as an official Tour event! However, the PGA of America had just revised its Player of the
Year award criteria, and now treated wins in the British Open and the Masters the same as with wins in the US Open and PGA Championship. A win in
each of the majors was worth 30 points. 20 points was given for wins in the Players Championship as well as the World Series of Golf. All other wins in
official PGA Tour events--including the Pensacola Open--were worth 10 points apiece. On a descending scale {20 for 1st, 18 for 2nd, and so on down to 2
for 10th}, points were also awarded for best scoring averages and for most official prize money earned.
Rogers thus led the Player-of-the-Year race by eight points over two pursuers -- Ray Floyd, who had wins at the Players Championship, Doral Open and
and Westchester Classic; and Tom Watson, victorious at the Masters, Atlanta Classic and New Orleans Open.
In addition to the Player of the Year title, the Leading Money Winner title was also up for grabs. Despite winning a $100,000 1st-place check at the World
Series of Golf, Rogers was not in the running for Leading Money Winner. If the $50,000 1st prize from his British Open win had counted as official, Rogers
would have been right in the thick of the Money Race.
Floyd and Watson, though, both had great shots at Leading Money Winner. Two more players were also contending for the Money Title -- Bruce Lietzke,
winner of the Bob Hope Classic, San Diego Open and Byron Nelson Classic; and the PGA Tour Money Leader at that point, Tom Kite. Kite had recorded
only ONE tour win in 1981, the AMC-Inverrary Classic. But he also posted a gaggle of Top-5 and Top-10 finishes {including a solo 2nd to Rogers at the
World Series, worth $55,000} which helped elevate him to the top of the Official Money List.
Kite's brilliant play also put him in solid position to take home the Vardon Trophy, the annual PGA of America award for the year's best scoring average.
In fact, the Vardon would be Kite's for sure at season's end.
So to recap, these were the stakes for each of the various contenders going into the 1981 Pensacola Open --
»»» Bill Rogers: Player-of-the-Year
»»» Tom Watson: Player-of-the-Year and Leading Money Winner, both of which would be for the 5th straight year.
»»» Ray Floyd: Player-of-the-Year and Leading Money Winner
»»» Tom Kite and Bruce Lietzke: Leading Money Winner
Also -- here are the Top Five Money Winners going into the 1981 Pensacola Open --
1: Tom Kite .......... $ 364,099
2: Ray Floyd ......... $ 354,927
3: Tom Watson ........ $ 345,660
4: Bruce Lietzke ..... $ 336,146
5: Bill Rogers ....... $ 315,411
The Battle in the city of Five Flags
Bill Rogers, in the middle of a heavy late-season schedule, elected to skip the Pensacola Open, leaving Watson, Kite, Floyd and Lietzke to fight on their
own for the various golfing spoils.
Tom Watson got off to a great start, taking the first round lead with 64. But a 2nd round 76 knocked Watson back into the pack. He never re-emerged,
eventually finishing in a 4-way tie for 22nd.
Ray Floyd's first three rounds of 70-68-67 put him in position to grab the Pensacola title. A final round 73 dashed his hopes. Floyd wound up finishing
in a 6-way tie for 10th.
Bruce Lietzke started well with opening rounds of 67 and 68. However, weekend rounds of 71 and 70 were nowhere near good enough, and Lietzke
would finish in a 3-way tie for 5th.
Tom Kite would not claim the Pensacola title, but he most certainly did finish ahead of his three rivals, doing so in remarkable fashion. His opening
rounds of 72 and 70 for 2-under-par 142 were good enough to get him into the weekend, for 142 WAS the 36-hole cut mark! Kite then fired a 64 in
the third round, followed by a 69 in the fourth round. This placed him in a 2-way tie for 3rd with tour rookie Fred Couples.
A most interesting happenstance occurred as Vance Heafner and Mike Holland tied for 10th place. These two would get together the following week
and win the Walt Disney World Team Championship.
When everything else was all said and done on Sunday afternoon, Jerry Pate had claimed the 1981 Pensacola Open title. Steve Melnyk finished second.
Despite sitting out the Pensacola Open, Bill Rogers earned 1981 PGA of America Player of the Year Honors.
Meanwhile, Tom Kite took home both the Arnold Palmer Award as 1981's Leading Money Winner, as well as the Vardon Trophy for having 1981's
best scoring average.
The other players were left to ponder on what might have been in 1981.
Incidently, here are the final Top Five Money Winners of 1981 --
1: Tom Kite .......... $ 375,699
2: Ray Floyd ......... $ 359,360
3: Tom Watson ........ $ 347,660
4: Bruce Lietzke ..... $ 343,446
5: Bill Rogers ....... $ 315,411
Lastly, the golf fans of Pensacola emerged as the real winners. Their tournament, site of several important PGA Tour milestones, had for a moment in
time become almost as important as any major golf championship. That moment was gone now, leaving fans everywhere with great memories.
Beyond 1981
The Pensacola Open
The Pensacola Open was on the PGA Tour schedule up through 1988. Since then, the Senior PGA Tour (now, Champions Tour), as well as the Nationwide
Tour has hosted events in and near Pensacola. For many years, Gary Player always enjoyed coming to the Senior Tour events contested in this part of the
Florida Panhandle.
Besides being the place where 1981 season-ending honors were decided, the Pensacola Open was also the place where in 1974, Lee Elder won his first
PGA Tour event in a play-off with England's Peter Oosterhuis. With the win, Elder became the first African-American to earn an invitation to the Masters
Tournament in Augusta, GA. 1974 Monsanto Open (former title) Final Scores-Earnings
Suggesting Something New
Both the 1981 Pensacola Open and the entire 1981 PGA Tour season suggested that perhaps future PGA Tour seasons would benefit from a meaningful
season-long competition, using a strictly objective points system, and then having the season conclude with a special championship event where all the
major annual honors -- plus some extra rewards for players who met certain requirements -- would be decided.
The Tour Championship
Eventually, the PGA Tour would stage a season-ending championship -- The Tour Championship. This event was launched in 1987, with the intent of
settling the major season-ending honors. The field for this event was limited to 30 players. In 1987, a points system was used to determine the field.
In 1988 and after, the field of 30 would be determined by the PGA Tour's Official Money List.
As it turned out, the Tour Championship would provide little or no season-ending drama. Only twice, in 1989 and 1996, would there be seasonal races
that were decided at the Tour Championship.
The Fed Ex Cup
In 2007, the PGA Tour launched the Fed Ex Cup. It is a season-long points race that reaches a climax in late summer with a four-event "play-off" series.
The Tour Championship, moved to September from November, is the final play-off event. The Top 144 Fed Ex Cup Points Leaders qualify for the play-offs,
and then players are eliminated from competition in each playoff event until only 30 are left to compete in the Tour Championship.
The Grand Prize of the Fed Ex Cup is $10 million from a bonus pool of $35 million. The Cup Champion also receives a five-year PGA Tour exemption.
Players among the Top 30 Fed Ex Cup Points Leaders earn a priority rank above the Top 125 Money Winners, as well as invitations to the following
year's Masters Tournament and U.S. Open.
The verdict is still out on the Fed Ex Cup, but this much is known. ---
»»» The PGA Tour's official calendar year season does not end with the Tour Championship. Some six or seven events are played afterwards. Players
who are not among the Top 30 Fed Ex Cup Points Leaders can still earn major championship invitations by finishing among the Top 20 (British Open)
and Top 30 (Masters, US Open) Money Leaders. This has the effect of giving the season two ending points, rather than just one.
»»» The four playoff events will be the same ones every year (Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BMW Championship, Tour Championship). No other PGA Tour
events will share in the Fed Ex Cup experience.
»»» There are no conditions for claiming the $10 Million Fed Ex Cup Grand Prize, save for two -- (1) be a regular full-time member of the PGA Tour;
(2) earn more Fed Ex Cup points than anyone else.
Not Yet There
Nearly 30 years later, a season-ending finish as dramatic and suspenseful as the 1981 Pensacola Open has yet to occur. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has
chosen to go with methods that seem to diminish, rather than to heighten any potential drama. And so, the promise of 1981 remains, for now, unfulfilled.
Suggested Revisions of the PGA Tour Exemption Categories!!!!
Top 125 money winner threshold is reduced to Top 90. More playing chances are provided for Nationwide Tour and Q-School players.
The points-based Fed Ex Cup is replaced with a money-based Season Championship. Also, there is a hypothetical 2010 PGA Tour
schedule that is based on the suggested revisions.
Proposal: The 80-50 Cut!!!!
A proposed double-cut method designed to relieve congestion and speed up play for weekend fields at PGA Tour events. Also presented is a restructured prize money distribution formula, as well as examples of the 80-50 cut in action.
