1977 European Tour

The 1977 European Tour, titled as the 1977 PGA European Tournament Players' Division,[1][2][3] was the sixth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1977 European Tour season
Duration6 April 1977 (1977-04-06) – 1 October 1977 (1977-10-01)
Number of official events22
Most winsSpain Seve Ballesteros (3)
Order of MeritSpain Seve Ballesteros
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Nick Faldo
← 1976
1978 →

Changes for 1977

There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Callers of Newcastle and the Tournament Players Championship, which replaced the Piccadilly Medal.[3][4] Two events not counting for the Order of Merit, the Phillip Morris Nations Cup and the Sumrie Better-Ball, originally pencilled in for May,[5] were cancelled.[6]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1977 season.[7]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)		 Winner[lower-alpha 1] Notes
9 Apr Portuguese Open Portugal 25,000 Spain Manuel Ramos (1)
10 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$200,000 United States Tom Watson (2) Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
16 Apr Spanish Open Spain 30,000 Scotland Bernard Gallacher (4)
23 Apr Madrid Open Spain 22,000 Spain Antonio Garrido (2)
1 May Italian Open Italy 25,000 Spain Ángel Gallardo (1)
8 May French Open France 23,500 Spain Seve Ballesteros (2)
14 May Benson & Hedges International Open England 40,000 Spain Antonio Garrido (3)
21 May Sun Alliance Match Play Championship England 20,000 South Africa Hugh Baiocchi (4)
28 May Penfold PGA Championship England 50,000 Spain Manuel Piñero (3)
5 Jun Kerrygold International Ireland 15,000 Republic of Ireland Liam Higgins (1)
11 Jun Martini International England 15,000 Australia Greg Norman (1)
19 Jun Greater Manchester Open England 20,000 Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy (1)
19 Jun U.S. Open United States US$225,000 United States Hubert Green (n/a) Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
25 Jun Uniroyal International Championship England 30,000 Spain Seve Ballesteros (3)
9 Jul The Open Championship Scotland 100,000 United States Tom Watson (3) Major championship
17 Jul Swiss Open Switzerland 35,000 Spain Seve Ballesteros (4)
24 Jul Scandinavian Enterprise Open Sweden 45,000 United States Bob Byman (1)
31 Jul Callers of Newcastle England 25,000 South Africa John Fourie (1) New tournament
7 Aug German Open West Germany 30,000 South Africa Tienie Britz (1)
14 Aug Dutch Open Netherlands 30,000 United States Bob Byman (2)
14 Aug PGA Championship United States US$250,000 United States Lanny Wadkins (n/a) Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
17 Aug Skol Lager Individual Scotland 20,000 England Nick Faldo (1)
28 Aug Carroll's Irish Open Ireland 40,000 United States Hubert Green (n/a)
10 Sep Tournament Players Championship England 40,000 England Neil Coles (6) New tournament
1 Oct Dunlop Masters England 40,000 England Guy Hunt (1)

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
2 Jul Phillip Morris Nations Cup France – Cancelled Team event
20 Aug Double Diamond International Scotland n/a Team USA Team event
17 Sep Ryder Cup England n/a Team USA Team event
8 Oct Colgate World Match Play Championship England 75,000 Australia Graham Marsh Limited-field event
16 Oct Trophée Lancôme France 50,000 Australia Graham Marsh
11 Dec World Cup Philippines US$4,200 Spain Seve Ballesteros and
Spain Antonio Garrido		 Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy US$2,100 South Africa Gary Player

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[8]

PositionPlayerPrize money (£)
1Spain Seve Ballesteros46,435
2South Africa Hugh Baiocchi32,251
3Spain Antonio Garrido21,580
4Spain Manuel Piñero26,569
5United States Bob Byman19,452
6Scotland Brian Barnes17,556
7England Peter Dawson17,583
8England Nick Faldo23,977
9Spain Francisco Abreu13,293
10Spain Ángel Gallardo14,764

Awards
AwardWinnerRef.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Nick Faldo[9]

Notes
  1. 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.
  2. Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References
  1. "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. Corcoran, Michael (11 May 2010). Duel in the Sun. Simon and Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9781439141922.
  3. Foulger, Neville (23 December 1976). "Cash boost as top players chase rising pound!". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, United Kingdom. p. 29. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. Davies, David (21 December 1976). "European golf prizes top £1m". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. p. 10. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Golf". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, United Kingdom. 16 December 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "No Sumrie". Reading Evening Post. Reading, United Kingdom. 20 April 1977. p. 26. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "1977 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  8. "Penningligan-77: Europa" [Money list-77: Europe]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  9. "Award for Faldo". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 7 October 1977. p. 32. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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