1981 U.S. Senior Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Arnold Palmer, 289 (won playoff)
Where it was played: Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) in Birmingham, Michigan
Tournament dates: July 9-13, 1981
Leaders after first round: Bob Goalby, Jim Ferree, Art Wall, 71
Leader after second round: Bob Goalby, 142
Leaders after third round: Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Art Wall, 216
What Happened in the 1981 U.S. Senior Open
Arnold Palmer won the 1981 U.S. Senior Open by charging from behind in an 18-hole playoff. In so doing, Palmer became the first golfer to have victories in both the U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open.Palmer was six strokes off the lead at the halfway mark after scoring 76 in the second round. That remains today the highest second-round score in this major by anyone who went on to win it.
But in the third round, Palmer surged to a share of the lead with a 68, the low round of the tournament and one of just two below-par rounds on the par-70 South Course at Oakland Hills.
In the final round, Palmer and 54-hole co-leader Billy Casper both scored 73, while club professional Bob Stone scored 72 to tie them at 289. Palmer had a putt on the 72nd green to win, but missed.
The three-man, 18-hole playoff was expected to be a battle between legends Palmer and Casper, who had met once before in similar circumstances: Casper beat Palmer in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1966 U.S. Open.
Instead, it was Stone who got off to the hot start, including a 170-yard hole-out for eagle on the par-4 fifth hole. When Palmer bogeyed No. 6, he was six shots behind Stone. (Casper never really looked a real threat in the playoff.)
Palmer clawed back three stokes by the turn and was three behind Stone as they started the back nine. He caught Stone on the 12th hole, then they traded the lead over the next two holes. On the 15th, Palmer sank a 40-foot putt from the fringe to go in front to stay.
Palmer wound up scoring 70 to Stone's 74 and Casper's 77. It was Palmer's second win in a senior major and his second win on the Champions Tour. Stone never won on the senior tour. Casper went on to win the 1983 U.S. Senior Open.
This tournament was the first of 25 times Palmer played the USSO, which was the tournament record (since broken) for both most overall appearances and most consecutive starts in the U.S. Senior Open at the time of Palmer's last appearance in 2005.
When the USGA launched the U.S. Senior Open in 1980, the minimum age for golfers was 55, which excluded the 50-year-old Palmer from the inaugural tournament. Later in 1980, the USGA announced it was lowering the minimum age to 50, which made Palmer eligible for this year's tournament. And he rewarded the golf world with the victory.
1981 U.S. Senior Open Final Scores
| Arnold Palmer | 72-76-68-73—289 (70) |
| Bob Stone | 72-71-74-72—289 (74) |
| Billy Casper | 73-72-71-73—289 (77) |
| Art Wall | 71-72-73-74—290 |
| Gene Littler | 75-71-75-71—292 |
| Miller Barber | 74-71-74-74—293 |
| Bob Goalby | 71-71-76-76—294 |
| Mike Fetchick | 76-73-75-72—296 |
| Lionel Hebert | 70-77-74-75—296 |
| Mike Souchak | 75-74-78-69—296 |
| Stan Thirsk | 73-77-75-71—296 |
| Mac Main | 78-75-71-74—298 |
| Billy Maxwell | 76-75-75-74—300 |
| George Bayer | 73-70-77-80—300 |
| Jim Ferree | 71-78-79-72—300 |
| Sam Snead | 72-77-76-76—301 |
| Dick Sarta | 73-75-75-78—301 |
| Dow Finsterwald | 81-73-74-73—301 |
| Doug Higgins Jr. | 74-78-73-76—301 |
| Dan Sikes | 79-74-70-78—301 |
| a-Glenn Johnson | 77-77-72-75—301 |
| Howie Johnson | 76-75-74-77—302 |
| Fred Haas | 75-76-73-78—302 |
| Gardner Dickinson | 72-76-72-82—302 |
| Dean Lind | 76-74-76-76—302 |
| Stan Dudas | 75-79-73-75—302 |
| Bill Ogden | 79-75-76-73—303 |
| Milon Marusic | 77-73-76-78—304 |
| Doug Ford | 77-73-78-76—304 |
| Gordon Jones | 74-78-74-78—304 |
| a-James Jackson | 73-79-73-79—304 |
| Tom Nieporte | 72-76-74-83—305 |
| Al Mengert | 75-75-79-76—305 |
| Joe Cheves | 75-74-77-79—305 |
| a-William Campbell | 72-79-77-78—306 |
| a-Allan Sussell | 77-75-77-78—307 |
| Ted Kroll | 75-78-77-79—309 |
| a-Joe Simpson | 78-75-82-75—310 |
| Joe Jimenez | 76-77-78-79—310 |
| Joe Sodd | 74-80-75-81—310 |
| Charles Owens | 78-71-78-83—310 |
| a-Leo Kubiak | 77-73-75-86—311 |
| George Thomas | 77-77-72-86—312 |
| Murry Jacobs | 72-78-79-84—313 |
| George Butler | 79-75-78-82—314 |
| Bob Duden | 76-78-83-77—314 |
| Dick Lotz | 77-75-81-83—316 |
| B.G. Halbert | 75-79-81-81—316 |
| Ray Montgomery | 75-78-80-84—317 |
Sources:
Dorfman, Sid. "Arnie magic would perk up USGA's senior tournament," The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, September, 28, 1980.
PGA Tour. 1982 Senior Tour Book, Tournament Summaries, U.S. Senior Open.
PGATour.com. Champions Tour, Tournaments, U.S. Senior Open, Past Results, 1981, https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/tournaments/2026/u.s-senior-open-championship/S2026512/past-results.
United States Golf Association. Official USGA Record Book, 1895-1990, Triumph Books, 1992.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Senior Open, Tournament Records, https://championships.usga.org/content/championships/ussenioropen/u-s--senior-open-records.html.
Universal Press International. "Palmer Takes Senior Playoff," The New York Times, July 14, 1981, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/14/sports/palmer-takes-senior-playoff.html.
