1959 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 2, 1959 (1959-01-02) – December 6, 1959 (1959-12-06)
Number of official events46
Most winsUnited States Gene Littler (5)
Money listUnited States Art Wall Jr.
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Art Wall Jr.
← 1958
1960 →

The 1959 PGA Tour was the 44th season of the PGA Tour, the main 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[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 5Los Angeles OpenCalifornia35,000United States Ken Venturi (7)
Jan 12Tijuana Open InvitationalMexico20,000United States Ernie Vossler (2)
Jan 18Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia50,000United States Art Wall Jr. (7)Pro-Am
Jan 25Thunderbird InvitationalCalifornia15,000United States Arnold Palmer (11)
Feb 1San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia20,000United States Marty Furgol (4)
Feb 8Phoenix Open InvitationalArizona20,000United States Gene Littler (10)
Feb 15Tucson Open InvitationalArizona15,000United States Gene Littler (11)
Feb 22Texas Open InvitationalTexas20,000United States Wes Ellis (2)
Mar 1Baton Rouge Open InvitationalLouisiana15,000United States Howie Johnson (2)
Mar 9Greater New Orleans Open InvitationalLouisiana20,000United States Bill Collins (1)
Mar 15Pensacola Open InvitationalFlorida15,000United States Paul Harney (3)
Mar 23St. Petersburg Open InvitationalFlorida15,000United States Cary Middlecoff (38)
Mar 30Azalea Open InvitationalNorth Carolina15,000United States Art Wall Jr. (8)
Apr 5Masters TournamentGeorgia75,000United States Art Wall Jr. (9)Major championship
Apr 12Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina20,000United States Dow Finsterwald (6)
Apr 19Houston ClassicTexas30,000United States Jack Burke Jr. (14)
Apr 26Tournament of ChampionsNevada20,000United States Mike Souchak (8)Winners-only event
May 3Colonial National InvitationTexas27,300United States Ben Hogan (64)Invitational
May 11Oklahoma City Open InvitationalOklahoma25,000United States Arnold Palmer (12)
May 17Arlington Hotel OpenArkansas20,000United States Gene Littler (12)
May 25Memphis Open InvitationalTennessee25,000United States Don Whitt (1)
May 31Kentucky Derby OpenKentucky20,000United States Don Whitt (2)
Jun 7Eastern Open InvitationalMaryland20,000United States Dave Ragan (1)
Jun 13U.S. OpenNew York50,000United States Billy Casper (7)Major championship
Jun 20Canadian OpenCanada25,000United States Doug Ford (14)
Jun 27Gleneagles-Chicago Open InvitationalIllinois57,000United States Ken Venturi (8)
Jul 3The Open ChampionshipScotland£5,000South Africa Gary Player (2)Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
Jul 5Buick Open InvitationalMichigan57,000United States Art Wall Jr. (10)
Jul 12Western OpenPennsylvania30,000United States Mike Souchak (9)
Jul 19Insurance City Open InvitationalConnecticut25,000United States Gene Littler (12)
Aug 2PGA ChampionshipMinnesota50,000United States Bob Rosburg (4)Major championship
Aug 9Carling Open InvitationalWashington25,000United States Dow Finsterwald (7)
Aug 16Motor City OpenMichigan25,000United States Mike Souchak (10)
Aug 23Rubber City Open InvitationalOhio20,000United States Tom Nieporte (1)
Aug 30Miller Open InvitationalWisconsin35,000United States Gene Littler (13)
Sep 7Kansas City Open InvitationalMissouri20,000United States Dow Finsterwald (8)
Sep 14Dallas Open InvitationalTexas25,000United States Julius Boros (8)
Sep 20El Paso OpenTexas20,000United States Marty Furgol (5)
Sep 27Golden Gate ChampionshipCalifornia45,000United States Mason Rudolph (1)New tournament
Oct 4Portland Centennial Open InvitationalOregon20,000United States Billy Casper (8)
Oct 11Hesperia Open InvitationalCalifornia15,000United States Eric Monti (2)
Oct 18Orange County Open InvitationalCalifornia15,000United States Jay Hebert (4)New tournament
Nov 15Lafayette Open InvitationalLouisiana15,000United States Billy Casper (9)
Nov 22Mobile Sertoma Open InvitationalAlabama15,000United States Billy Casper (10)New tournament
Nov 29West Palm Beach Open InvitationalFlorida15,000United States Arnold Palmer (13)
Dec 6Coral Gables Open InvitationalFlorida20,000United States 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 Australia Kel Nagle and
Australia Peter Thomson		 Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy Belgium Flory Van Donck

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2][3]

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1United States Art Wall Jr.53,168
2United States Gene Littler38,296
3United States Dow Finsterwald33,906
4United States Billy Casper33,899
5United States Arnold Palmer32,462
6United States Mike Souchak31,807
7United States Bob Rosburg31,676
8United States Doug Ford31,009
9United States Jay Hebert26,034
10United States Ken Venturi25,886

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Art Wall Jr.[4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)United States Art Wall Jr.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. ↑ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

  1. ↑ "PGA 1959 Recap". Kronish Sports. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Wall Tops". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. December 20, 1959. p. 109. Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
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