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The 1981 Ladies European Tour was the third season of golf tournaments organised by the Women's Professional Golfers' Association (WPGA), which later became the Ladies European Tour (LET).[1] There were 13 tournaments on the schedule including four Carlsberg sponsored events and the Women's British Open, organised by the Ladies' Golf Union.
| Duration | May 1981 – October 1981 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 18 |
| Order of Merit |  Jenny Lee Smith |
← 1980 1982 → | |
For the 1981 season, the majority of tournaments were increased to 54-holes, having previously been held over 36-holes. This included the Carlsberg events, which were reduced in number, from ten down to four, in order to increase the prize funds at each event. Total prize money on the tour was planned to rise to £250,000 in 1981,[2] but the tour suffered financially during the season as several tournaments were cancelled after sponsors withdrew their support.[3]
The Order of Merit was won by Jenny Lee Smith, who dominated the season with three wins and four runner-up finishes; her £13,518 in prize money put her more than £5,000 clear of runner-up Cathy Panton.[4] The Carlsberg European Championship overall title was won by Panton, who won two of the four events.[5]
The table below shows the 1981 schedule.[6] The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the Ladies European Tour up to and including that event. This is only shown for members of the tour.[7]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Winner | Score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)–up | Winner's share (£) | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May | Carlsberg Championship – St Pierre | Wales | Mickey Walker (3) | 222 (+6) | 2 strokes | Sue Latham | 1,500 | [8] |
| 11 May | Sports Space Championship | England | Jenny Lee Smith (6) | 72 (−1) | 2 strokes | Christine Langford  Cathy Panton | 600 | [9] |
| 22 May | Carlsberg Championship – Queen's Park | England | Cathy Panton (4) | 223 (+1) | 1 stroke | Christine Langford | 1,500 | [10] |
| 30 May | Smirnoff Ulster Open | Northern Ireland |  Sarah LeVeque (1) | 228 (E) | Playoff | Christine Langford | 600 | [11] |
| 6 Jun | United Friendly Tournament | England | Sarah LeVeque (2) | 220 (+7) | 8 strokes |  Sherrin Galbraith Cathy Panton | [12] | |
| 19 Jun | Carlsberg Championship – Moortown | England | Cathy Panton (5) | 213 (−9) | 3 strokes | Jenny Lee Smith | 1,500 | [13] |
| 28 Jun | Volvo International Tournament | Sweden | Beverly Lewis (1) | 147 (+5) | 3 strokes |  Kärstin Ehrnlund | ||
| 3 Jul | McEwan's Lager Welsh Classic | Wales | Jenny Lee Smith (7) | 216 (E) | 2 strokes | Muriel Thomson | 1,500 | [14] |
| 24 Jul | Elizabeth Ann Classic | England | Muriel Thomson (4) | 293 (+1) | 1 stroke | Jenny Lee Smith | 1,500 | [15] |
| 1 Aug | Women's British Open | England | Debbie Massey (n/a) | 295 (−1) | 4 strokes | Belle Robertson (a) | 5,600 | [16] |
| 8 Aug | Ladies Irish Open | Ireland | Cancelled | [3] | ||||
| 14 Aug | Carlsberg Championship – Gleneagles | England | Dale Reid (2) | 219 (+3) | 1 stroke | Jenny Lee Smith | 1,500 | [5] |
| 21 Aug | Hitachi WPGA Championship | England | Cancelled | [3] | ||||
| 13 Sep | Moben Kitchens Classic | England | Dale Reid (3) | 213 (−6) | 6 strokes | Jenny Lee Smith | 900 | [17] |
| 18 Sep | Barnham Broom Championship | England | Cancelled | [3] | ||||
| 17 Oct | Lambert & Butler Matchplay | England | Jenny Lee Smith (8) | 3 and 2 | Beverly Lewis | 3,000 | [18] | |
Major championship in bold.
The Order of Merit was sponsored by Hambro Life and based on prize money won throughout the season.[4]
| Place | Player | Money (£) | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jenny Lee Smith | 13,518 | 11 |
| 2 | Cathy Panton | 8,410 | |
| 3 | Muriel Thomson | 8,143 | 13 |
| 4 | Dale Reid | 7,321 | |
| 5 | Beverly Lewis | 6,534 | |
| 6 | Christine Langford | 5,290 | |
| 7 | Mickey Walker | 4,844 | |
| 8 | Jane Chapman | 4,583 | |
| 9 | Maxine Burton | 4,120 | |
| 10 | Sue Latham | 4,118 |
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