1979 European Tour
The 1979 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tournament Players' Division (ETPD) run PGA European Golf Tour. It was the first time the circuit carried the European Tour name and is officially recognised as the eighth season of the PGA European Tour.
| Duration | 12 April 1979 – 6 October 1979 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 23 |
| Most wins | 3: Sandy Lyle |
| Order of Merit | Sandy Lyle |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mike Miller |
← 1978 1980 → | |
Historically, the PGA's Order of Merit only included tournaments in Great Britain and Ireland, but in 1970 events in continental Europe were included for the first time. The circuit and organisation evolved further over the following years, and adopted the title PGA European Golf Tour for the 1979 season.[1] Also for the first time in 1979, players from continental Europe were eligible for the Ryder Cup.
The Order of Merit was won by Scotland's Sandy Lyle.
Changes for 1979
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Welsh Golf Classic and Lada English Golf Classic. A new team event was also planned for France, replacing the Sumrie Better-Ball,[2] but it was not held.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1979 season. The season was made up of 23 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non-counting tournaments that later became known as "Approved Special Events". It included the major national opens around Europe, with the other tournaments mostly being held in England, Wales and Scotland.
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Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) |
Winner(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a |  Team USA |
Team event |
| 30 Sep | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | n/a |  Bernhard Langer |
|
| 14 Oct | Suntory World Match Play Championship | England | 130,000 | Bill Rogers |
12-player field |
| 28 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 45,000 | Johnny Miller |
|
| 11 Nov | World Cup | Greece | n/a | Hale Irwin and John Mahaffey |
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | Hale Irwin |
Order of Merit
The PGA European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit". It was based on a points system, which meant that some players could finish lower than others despite accumulating more prize money.
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Lyle | 49,233 |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Seve Ballesteros | 47,411 |
| 3 |  Mark James | 38,534 |
| 4 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Dale Hayes | 32,540 |
| 5 | Michael King | 29,725 |
| 6 | Brian Barnes | 28,204 |
| 7 | Ken Brown | 25,407 |
| 8 | Antonio Garrido | 24,665 |
| 9 | Tony Jacklin | 22,179 |
| 10 | Neil Coles | 21,351 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mike Miller |
Notes
- The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- Jacobs, Raymond (21 December 1978). "£1½m record prize money on European tour". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. Retrieved 11 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.