1977 European Tour
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.
| Duration | 6 April 1977 – 16 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 → | |
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 Order of Merit was won by Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1977 European Tour schedule which 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.
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]
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- 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.
| Position | Player | Country | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Spain | 46,436 |
| 2 | Hugh Baiocchi | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Africa | 32,251 |
| 3 | Antonio Garrido | Spain | 21,581 |
| 4 | Manuel Piñero | Spain | 26,569 |
| 5 | Bob Byman |  United States | 19,452 |
| 6 | Brian Barnes |  Scotland | 17,557 |
| 7 | Peter Dawson |  England | 17,583 |
| 8 | Nick Faldo | England | 23,978 |
| 9 | Francisco Abreu | Spain | 13,294 |
| 10 | Ángel Gallardo | Spain | 14,765 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Nick Faldo | England |
References
- Corcoran, Michael (11 May 2010). Duel in the Sun. Simon and Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9781439141922.
- 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.