The 1981 LPGA Tour was the 32nd season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 29 to November 8. The season consisted of 36 official money events. Donna Caponi won the most tournaments, five. Beth Daniel led the money list with earnings of $206,998, becoming the first player to win over $200,000 in a season.
The season saw the first tournament with a $50,000 first prize, the World Championship of Women's Golf . There were five first-time winners in 1981: Patty Hayes , Kathy Hite , Cathy Reynolds , Patty Sheehan , and Beth Solomon .
The tournament results and award winners are listed below.
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1981 season.[ 1] Majors are shown in bold .
Date
Tournament
Location
Winner
Score
Purse ($ )
1st prize ($)
Feb 1
Whirlpool Championship of Deer Creek Florida Sandra Palmer (17)284 (−8)
100,000
15,000
Feb 8
Elizabeth Arden Classic Florida Sally Little (8)283 (−5)
125,000
18,750
Feb 15
S&H Golf Classic Florida JoAnne Carner (30)215 (−1)
100,000
15,000
Feb 22
Bent Tree Ladies Classic Florida Amy Alcott (14)276 (−12)
150,000
22,500
Mar 1
Olympia Gold Classic California Sally Little (9)142 (−4)^
150,000
22,500
Mar 8
Arizona Copper Classic Arizona Nancy Lopez (21)278 (−14)
125,000
18,750
Mar 15
Sun City Classic Arizona Patty Hayes (1)277 (−15)
100,000
15,000
Mar 22
LPGA Desert Inn Pro-Am Nevada Donna Caponi (20)286 (−3)
200,000
30,000
Mar 29
Women's Kemper Open California Pat Bradley (8)284 (E)
175,000
26,250
Apr 5
Colgate-Dinah Shore California Nancy Lopez (22)277 (−11)
250,000
37,500
Apr 12
American Defender/WRAL Golf Classic North Carolina Donna Caponi (21)208 (−8)
125,000
18,750
Apr 19
Florida Lady Citrus Florida Beth Daniel (6)281 (−7)
100,000
15,000
Apr 26
Birmingham Classic Alabama Beth Solomon (1)206 (−10)
100,000
15,000
May 3
CPC Women's International South Carolina Sally Little (10)287 (−1)
125,000
18,750
May 10
Lady Michelob Georgia Amy Alcott (15)209 (−8)
125,000
18,750
May 17
Coca-Cola Classic New Jersey Kathy Whitworth (81)211 (−8)
125,000
18,750
May 24
Corning Classic New York Kathy Hite (1)282 (−6)
125,000
18,750
May 31
Golden Lights Championship Connecticut Cathy Reynolds (1)285 (−3)
125,000
18,750
Jun 7
McDonald's Classic Pennsylvania Sandra Post (8)282 (−6)
150,000
22,500
Jun 14
LPGA Championship Ohio Donna Caponi (22)280 (−8)
150,000
22,500
Jun 21
Lady Keystone Open Pennsylvania JoAnne Carner (31)203 (−13)
125,000
18,750
Jun 28
The Sarah Coventry New York Nancy Lopez (23)285 (−7)
125,000
18,750
Jul 5
Peter Jackson Classic Canada Jan Stephenson (5)278 (−10)
200,000
30,000
Jul 12
Mayflower Classic Indiana Debbie Austin (7)279 (−9)
150,000
22,500
Jul 19
WUI Classic New York Donna Caponi (23)282 (−2)
125,000
18,750
Jul 26
U.S. Women's Open Illinois Pat Bradley (9)279 (−9)
150,000
22,000
Aug 2
Boston Five Classic Massachusetts Donna Caponi (24)276 (−12)
150,000
22,500
Aug 9
West Virginia Bank Classic West Virginia Hollis Stacy (8)212 (−4)
125,000
18,750
Aug 16
Mary Kay Classic Texas Jan Stephenson (6)198 (−18)
155,000
23,250
Aug 23
World Championship of Women's Golf Ohio Beth Daniel (7)284 (−4)
150,000
50,000
Aug 30
Columbia Savings LPGA Classic Colorado JoAnne Carner (32)278 (−10)
150,000
22,500
Sep 7
Rail Charity Golf Classic Illinois JoAnne Carner (33)205 (−11)
125,000
18,750
Sep 13
United Virginia Bank Classic Virginia Jan Stephenson (7)205 (−14)
125,000
18,750
Sep 20
Henredon Classic North Carolina Sandra Haynie (40)281 (−7)
165,000
24,750
Oct 11
Inamori Classic California Hollis Stacy (9)286 (−6)
150,000
22,500
Nov 8
Mazda Japan Classic Japan Patty Sheehan (1)213 (−9)
250,000
30,000
^ - weather-shortened tournament
Donna Caponi
