1977 European Tour
| Duration | 6 April 1977 – 1 October 1977 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 22 |
| Most wins | 3: Seve Ballesteros |
| Order of Merit | Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Nick Faldo |
← 1976 1978 → | |
The 1977 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tournament Players’ Division circuit. It is officially recognised as the sixth season of the PGA European Tour.
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, with the Tournament Players’ Division reaching an agreement to join with their continental counterparts, the Continental Tournament Players' Association, in December 1976 and as a result added the word "European" to their name for the 1977 season.[1][2] The title of the circuit was changed to the PGA European Golf Tour in 1979.[3]
The season was made up of 22 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non-counting tournaments that later became known as "Approved Special Events". The schedule included the major national opens around Europe, with the other tournaments mostly held in England and Scotland.
The Order of Merit was won by Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
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.[2][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.
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 |  Graham Marsh
|
Limited-field event |
| 16 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 50,000 | Graham Marsh
|
|
| 11 Dec | World Cup | Philippines | US$4,200 | Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | US$2,100 |  Gary Player
|
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros |
46,436 |
| 2 | Hugh Baiocchi |
32,251 |
| 3 | Antonio Garrido |
21,581 |
| 4 | Manuel Piñero |
26,569 |
| 5 | Bob Byman |
19,452 |
| 6 |  Brian Barnes |
17,557 |
| 7 | Peter Dawson |
17,583 |
| 8 | Nick Faldo |
23,978 |
| 9 | Francisco Abreu |
13,294 |
| 10 | Ángel Gallardo |
14,765 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Nick Faldo
|
See also
Notes
- ^ 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. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- ^ Corcoran, Michael (11 May 2010). Duel in the Sun. Simon and Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9781439141922.
- ^ a b Foulger, Neville (23 December 1976). "Cash boost as top players chase rising pound!". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 29. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- ^ Davies, David (21 December 1976). "European golf prizes top £1m". Birmingham Daily Post. p. 10. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Golf". Liverpool Echo. 16 December 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "No Sumrie". Reading Evening Post. 20 April 1977. p. 26. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.