1961 PGA Championship: Jerry Barber wins at Olympia Fields Country Club
Jerry Barber won the 1961 PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois with 277 (−3), beating Don January in a playoff.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1961 in Wanamaker Avenue, the PGA Championship room, or every year on the PGA Championship winners list.
- Dates
- July 27, 1961 to July 31, 1961
- Course
- Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois
- Edition
- 43rd PGA Championship
- Format
- stroke play
- Par
- 70 · 6,722 yards
- Field
- 161
- Made the cut
- 65 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- $64,800 · winner's share $11,000
- Champion
- Jerry Barber · age 45 · United States · born Woodson, Illinois
- Champion's title
- 1st PGA Championship
- Winning score
- 69-67-71-70 = 277 (−3)
- Runner-up
- Don January
- 54-hole leader
- Don January (205) · Jerry Barber was 2 strokes back
- Playoff
- 18-hole playoff (Monday); beat Don January; Barber 67; January 68; 18th hole of the playoff (January bogey)
Winner and runner-up
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry Barber | 69 | 67 | 71 | 70 | 277 | −3 |
| 2 | Don January | 72 | 66 | 67 | 72 | 277 | −3 |
What happened at the 1961 PGA Championship
Trailing Don January by four with three holes left, Jerry Barber holed putts of about 20, 40 and 60 feet on 16, 17 and 18 to force a playoff.
Barber, 45, won the Monday 18-hole playoff 67–68 when January bogeyed the last, becoming the oldest PGA champion to that point.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's PGA Championship data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: pga.json (the PGA Championship room's data: Tables 1A–1H).