The 1979 European Tour, titled as the 1979 PGA European Golf Tour,[1] was the eighth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 12 April 1979 – 6 October 1979 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 23 |
| Most wins | |
| Order of Merit | |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | |
← 1978 1980 → | |
Changes for 1979
editThere 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
editThe following table lists official events during the 1979 season.[3][4]
Unofficial events
editThe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Aug | News of the World Under-23 Match Play Championship | England | 10,000 | ||
| 16 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | Team event | |
| 30 Sep | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | 20,000 | ||
| 14 Oct | Suntory World Match Play Championship | England | 110,000 | Limited-field event | |
| 28 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 25,000 | ||
| 11 Nov | World Cup | Greece | n/a | Team event | |
| World Cup Individual Trophy |
Order of Merit
editThe Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[4][5]
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 39,808 | 49,233 | |
| 2 | 37,026 | 47,411 | |
| 3 | 32,494 | 38,534 | |
| 4 | 30,031 | 32,540 | |
| 5 | 26,283 | 29,725 | |
| 6 | 26,218 | 28,204 | |
| 7 | 22,991 | 25,407 | |
| 8 | 21,825 | 24,665 | |
| 9 | 20,505 | 22,179 | |
| 10 | 19,186 | 21,351 |
Awards
edit| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | [6] |
Notes
edit- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members 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.
- ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
edit- ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (21 December 1978). "£1½m record prize money on European tour". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "1979 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b Simms, George (1979). World of Golf 1980. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 83–128. ISBN 0362020078.
- ^ "Europa-touren-79" [European Tour-79]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1980. p. 43. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Rookie of the year". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, United Kingdom. 6 October 1979. p. 25. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.