1959 PGA Tour
| Duration | January 2, 1959 – December 6, 1959 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 46 |
| Most wins |  Gene Littler (5) |
| Money list | Art Wall Jr. |
| PGA Player of the Year | Art Wall Jr. |
← 1958 1960 → | |
The 1959 PGA Tour was the 44th season of the
professional golf tour
in the United States.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1959 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5 | Los Angeles Open | California | 35,000 |  Ken Venturi (7) |
|
| Jan 12 | Tijuana Open Invitational |
Mexico | 20,000 | Ernie Vossler (2) |
|
| Jan 18 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am |
California | 50,000 | Art Wall Jr. (7) |
Pro-Am |
| Jan 25 | Thunderbird Invitational | California | 15,000 | Arnold Palmer (11) |
|
| Feb 1 | San Diego Open Invitational |
California | 20,000 | Marty Furgol (4) |
|
| Feb 8 | Phoenix Open Invitational |
Arizona | 20,000 | Gene Littler (10) |
|
| Feb 15 | Tucson Open Invitational |
Arizona | 15,000 | Gene Littler (11) |
|
| Feb 22 | Texas Open Invitational |
Texas | 20,000 | Wes Ellis (2) |
|
| Mar 1 | Baton Rouge Open Invitational | Louisiana | 15,000 | Howie Johnson (2) |
|
| Mar 9 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational |
Louisiana | 20,000 | Bill Collins (1) |
|
| Mar 15 | Pensacola Open Invitational |
Florida | 15,000 | Paul Harney (3) |
|
| Mar 23 | St. Petersburg Open Invitational | Florida | 15,000 | Cary Middlecoff (38) |
|
| Mar 30 | Azalea Open Invitational | North Carolina | 15,000 | Art Wall Jr. (8) |
|
| Apr 5 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | 75,000 | Art Wall Jr. (9) |
Major championship |
| Apr 12 | Greater Greensboro Open |
North Carolina | 20,000 | Dow Finsterwald (6) |
|
| Apr 19 | Houston Classic |
Texas | 30,000 | Jack Burke Jr. (14) |
|
| Apr 26 | Tournament of Champions | Nevada | 20,000 | Mike Souchak (8) |
Winners-only event |
| May 3 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | 27,300 | Ben Hogan (64) |
Invitational |
| May 11 | Oklahoma City Open Invitational | Oklahoma | 25,000 | Arnold Palmer (12) |
|
| May 17 | Arlington Hotel Open | Arkansas | 20,000 | Gene Littler (12) |
|
| May 25 | Memphis Open Invitational |
Tennessee | 25,000 | Don Whitt (1) |
|
| May 31 | Kentucky Derby Open | Kentucky | 20,000 | Don Whitt (2) |
|
| Jun 7 | Eastern Open Invitational | Maryland | 20,000 | Dave Ragan (1) |
|
| Jun 13 | U.S. Open | New York | 50,000 | Billy Casper (7) |
Major championship |
| Jun 20 | Canadian Open | Canada | 25,000 | Doug Ford (14) |
|
| Jun 27 | Gleneagles-Chicago Open Invitational |
Illinois | 57,000 | Ken Venturi (8) |
|
| Jul 3 | The Open Championship | Scotland | £5,000 |  Gary Player (2) |
Major championship[b] |
| Jul 5 | Buick Open Invitational |
Michigan | 57,000 | Art Wall Jr. (10) |
|
| Jul 12 | Western Open | Pennsylvania | 30,000 | Mike Souchak (9) |
|
| Jul 19 | Insurance City Open Invitational |
Connecticut | 25,000 | Gene Littler (12) |
|
| Aug 2 | PGA Championship | Minnesota | 50,000 | Bob Rosburg (4) |
Major championship |
| Aug 9 | Carling Open Invitational |
Washington | 25,000 | Dow Finsterwald (7) |
|
| Aug 16 | Motor City Open | Michigan | 25,000 | Mike Souchak (10) |
|
| Aug 23 | Rubber City Open Invitational | Ohio | 20,000 | Tom Nieporte (1) |
|
| Aug 30 | Miller Open Invitational |
Wisconsin | 35,000 | Gene Littler (13) |
|
| Sep 7 | Kansas City Open Invitational | Missouri | 20,000 | Dow Finsterwald (8) |
|
| Sep 14 | Dallas Open Invitational |
Texas | 25,000 | Julius Boros (8) |
|
| Sep 20 | El Paso Open | Texas | 20,000 | Marty Furgol (5) |
|
| Sep 27 | Golden Gate Championship | California | 45,000 | Mason Rudolph (1) |
New tournament |
| Oct 4 | Portland Centennial Open Invitational |
Oregon | 20,000 | Billy Casper (8) |
|
| Oct 11 | Hesperia Open Invitational | California | 15,000 | Eric Monti (2) |
|
| Oct 18 | Orange County Open Invitational | California | 15,000 | Jay Hebert (4) |
New tournament |
| Nov 15 | Lafayette Open Invitational |
Louisiana | 15,000 | Billy Casper (9) |
|
| Nov 22 | Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational | Alabama | 15,000 | Billy Casper (10) |
New tournament |
| Nov 29 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Florida | 15,000 | Arnold Palmer (13) |
|
| Dec 6 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | Florida | 20,000 | Doug Sanders (3) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7 | Ryder Cup | California | n/a |  Team USA
|
Team event |
| Nov 21 | Canada Cup | Australia | n/a |  Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson
|
Team event |
| Canada Cup Individual Trophy |  Flory Van Donck
|
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2][3]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Art Wall Jr. |
53,168 |
| 2 | Gene Littler |
38,296 |
| 3 | Dow Finsterwald |
33,906 |
| 4 | Billy Casper |
33,899 |
| 5 | Arnold Palmer |
32,462 |
| 6 | Mike Souchak |
31,807 |
| 7 | Bob Rosburg |
31,676 |
| 8 | Doug Ford |
31,009 |
| 9 | Jay Hebert |
26,034 |
| 10 | Ken Venturi |
25,886 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
PGA Player of the Year |
Art Wall Jr. |
[4] |
| Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) | Art Wall Jr. |
[3] |
Notes
References
- ^ "PGA 1959 Recap". Kronish Sports. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ "Wall Tops". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. December 20, 1959. p. 109. Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Wall Top PGA Earner; Also Takes Vardon Cup". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. December 20, 1959. p. 41. Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Art Wall Named Golfer Of Year". Johnson City Press. Johnson City, Tennessee. December 9, 1959. p. 15 (B3 in paper). Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.