1978 European Tour
| Duration | 12 April 1978 – 22 October 1978 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 21 |
| Most wins | 4 – Seve Ballesteros |
| Order of Merit | Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Sandy Lyle |
← 1977 1979 → | |
The 1978 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 seventh 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 title of the circuit being changed to PGA European Golf Tour in 1979.[1]
The Order of Merit was won by Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1978 European Tour schedule which was made up of 21 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, Wales and Scotland.
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Belgian Open, the B.A./Avis Open in Jersey, and the European Open; the return of the Sumrie Better-Ball; and the loss of the Uniroyal International Championship, the Callers of Newcastle, and the Double Diamond team and individual events. In addition, the Kerrygold International was omitted from the schedule in 1978 due to the World Cup being held at Waterville.[2][3] The Lancome Trophy, which clashed with the new European Open, was also missing.[4]
- ^ a b c d e 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 since, although not official tour events at the time, they have been recognised as such retrospecively. Victories in tournaments later designated as "Approved Special Events", along with other events not counting towards the Order of Merit, are not recognised as official tour wins.
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.[5]
| Position | Player | Country | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros |  Spain |
47,177 | 54,348 |
| 2 | Dale Hayes |  South Africa |
30,204 | 43,891 |
| 3 | Nick Faldo |  England |
28,495 | 37,912 |
| 4 | Ken Brown |  Scotland |
24,929 | 29,843 |
| 5 | Howard Clark | England |
24,473 | 32,739 |
| 6 | Neil Coles | England |
23,150 | 30,348 |
| 7 | Mark James | England |
19,020 | 27,861 |
| 8 | Brian Barnes | Scotland |
18,105 | 23,386 |
| 9 | Bernard Gallacher | Scotland |
17,714 | 21,812 |
| 10 | Tommy Horton | England |
16,264 | 18,007 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Sandy Lyle | Scotland
|
See also
References
- ^ "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (20 December 1977). "Our golf scene goes European". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. p. 19. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Foulger, Neville (29 December 1977). "Faldo carries British hopes against hefty continental challenge". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, England. p. 34. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Golf pros banned from tourney". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 28 April 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ballesteros again". The Guardian. 3 November 1978. p. 22. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.