| 1981 PGA Championship | |
| Dates: | August 6–9, 1981 |
| Location: | Duluth, Georgia |
| Course: | Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course |
| Org: | PGA of America |
| Tour: | PGA Tour |
| Par: | 70 |
| Yardage: | 7070yd |
| Field: | 147 players, 78 after cut[1] |
| Cut: | 147 (+7)[2] |
| Purse: | $401,050 |
| Winners Share: | $60,000 |
| Champion: |  Larry Nelson |
| Score: | 273 (−7) |
| Previous: | 1980 |
| Next: | 1982 |
| Map: | USA#USA Georgia |
| Map Relief: | yes |
| Map Label: | Atlanta Athletic Club |
| Coordinates: | 34.004°N -84.193°W |
The 1981 PGA Championship was the 63rd PGA Championship, held August 6–9 at Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth, 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. Open in 1976. 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 | 66 | −4 | |
| T2 | 67 | −3 | |
| T4 | 68 | −2 | |
| Vance Heafner | |||
| T7 | 69 | −1 | |
| Roger Maltbie | |||
| Ron Streck |
Friday, August 7, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 66-69=135 | −5 | |
| T2 | 67-69=136 | −4 | |
| 70-66=136 | |||
| 69-67=136 | |||
| 5 | 69-68=137 | −3 | |
| T6 | 68-70=138 | −2 | |
| 71-67=138 | |||
| 70-68=138 | |||
| T9 | 70-69=139 | −1 | |
| 71-68=139 | |||
| 71-68=139 |
Saturday, August 8, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70-66-66=202 | −8 | |
| 2 | 70-68-68=206 | −4 | |
| T3 | 71-67-69=207 | −3 | |
| 69-68-70=207 | |||
| T5 | 67-69-72=208 | −2 | |
| 68-70-70=208 | |||
| 66-69-73=208 | |||
| 73-67-68=208 | |||
| T9 | 75-68-66=209 | −1 | |
| 71-68-70=209 | |||
| 69-67-73=209 |
Sunday, August 9, 1981
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Nelson | 70-66-66-71=273 | −7 | 60,000 |
| 2 | 70-68-68-71=277 | −3 | 40,000 | |
| 3 | 69-67-73-69=278 | −2 | 25,000 | |
| T4 | 75-68-66-70=279 | −1 | 13,146 | |
| 71-71-69-68=279 | ||||
| 74-69-70-66=279 | ||||
| 71-67-69-72=279 | ||||
| 70-70-71-68=279 | ||||
| 71-68-71-69=279 | ||||
| 73-67-68-71=279 |