1979 Ladies European Tour

The 1979 Ladies European Tour was the inaugural season of golf tournaments organised by the Women's Professional Golfers' Association (WPGA), which later became the Ladies European Tour (LET).[1] The tour was principally sponsored by Carlsberg, who organised 12 36-hole tournaments counting towards their own Order of Merit. There were six other tournaments on the schedule including the Women's British Open, organised by the Ladies' Golf Union.[2][3]

The Order of Merit was won by Cathy Panton, who finished just 1.5 points ahead of Women's British Open winner, Alison Sheard. Sheard topped the money list with almost £5,000 in winnings, over £1,000 more than runner-up Jane Panter.[4][5] The Carlsberg Order of Merit was won by Christine Langford, who won three of the twelve events and finished as runner-up in two others.[6]

Tournaments

The table below shows the 1979 schedule.[7] The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the Ladies European Tour up to and including that event. This is only shown for members of the tour.[8]

DateTournamentLocationWinnerScoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)–upWinner's
share (£)		Ref
27 AprCarlsberg Championship – Tyrrells WoodEngland Mollie Anderson (1)145 (+1)3 strokes Jane Chapman200[9]
4 MayCarlsberg Championship – WillingdonEngland Cathy Panton (1)151 (+5)1 stroke Kärstin Ehrnlund
Christine Langford		200[10]
11 MayCarlsberg Championship – Long AshtonEngland Christine Langford (1)73 (–2)[lower-alpha 1]2 strokes Kärstin Ehrnlund
Vanessa Marvin		200[11]
18 MayCarlsberg Championship – BabertonScotland Joanna Smurthwaite (1)147 (+1)2 strokes Jane Panter200[12]
25 MayCarlsberg Championship – WhitecraigsScotland Christine Langford (2)142 (−4)4 strokes Alison Sheard200[13]
1 JunCarlsberg Championship – CoventryEngland Jane Panter (1)146 (–2)1 stroke Cathy Panton200[14]
8 JunCarlsberg Championship – South StaffsEngland Vanessa Marvin (1)143 (–3)5 strokes Kärstin Ehrnlund200[15]
15 JunCarlsberg Championship – BallaterScotland Beverly Huke (1)146 (–2)1 stroke Jane Panter
Muriel Thomson
Mickey Walker		200[16]
22 JunCarlsberg Championship – St Annes Old LinksEngland Christine Langford (3)148 (+2)Playoff Jenny Lee Smith200[17]
29 JunCarlsberg Championship – YorkEngland Mickey Walker (1)140 (–2)1 stroke Alison Sheard200[18]
6 JulCarlsberg Championship – Sand MoorEngland Alison Sheard (1)147 (+1)3 strokes Christine Langford
Cathy Panton		200[19]
13 JulCarlsberg Championship – Arcot HallEngland Jenny Lee Smith (1)140 (–2)3 strokes Muriel Thomson200[20]
28 JulWomen's British OpenEngland Alison Sheard (2)301 (+5)3 strokes Mickey Walker3,000[21]
31 AugMcEwan's Welsh ClassicWales Alison Sheard (3)144 (+4)1 stroke Christine Trew400[22]
14 SepHitachi TournamentEngland Christine Trew (1)145 (–1)3 strokes Alison Sheard400[23]
22 SepState Express TournamentNorthern Ireland Cathy Panton (2)166 (+14)Playoff Amanda Middleton800[24]
29 SepWPGA European ChampionshipFrance Susan Moon (1)2922 strokes Irene Koehler[25]
27 OctLambert & Butler MatchplayEngland Jane Panter (2)2 up Muriel Thomson2,000[26]
  1. Second round abandoned because of fog; tournament results based on first round scores.

Major championship in bold.

Order of Merit and money list

The Order of Merit was based on a points system.[4][5]

#PlayerPointsMoney (£)Events
1 Cathy Panton8462,49518
2 Alison Sheard844.54,96513
3 Christine Langford789.51,53315
4 Jane Panter7703,83018
5 Vanessa Marvin7402,43418
6 Muriel Thomson6413,04315
7 Christine Trew6241,95515
8 Jenny Lee Smith597.53,22210
9 Jane Chapman578.51,47915
10 Amanda Middleton574.51,86117

See also

References
  1. LET Tour Guide 2013. Ladies European Tour. 2013. p. 195.
  2. Ryde, Peter (18 May 1978). "Quality will decide if new WPGA acorn grows into mighty oak". The Times. p. 12. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  3. Mair, Lewine (31 October 1978). "Women's professional tour becomes a reality". The Times. p. 8. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  4. Hedley, Alan (9 November 1979). "Golf". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. p. 39. Retrieved 28 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Pargeter, John (7 November 1979). "Open is more costly". Newcastle Journal. p. 18. Retrieved 28 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. Pargeter, John (14 July 1979). "First win a dream". Newcastle Journal. p. 16. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. Past Tournament Winners, Ladies European Tour, GolfToday
  8. Ladies European Tour – 1979 Winners
  9. "Mollie wins by three strokes". Glasgow Herald. 28 April 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  10. "Cathy comes home with a 76 for first professional victory". Glasgow Herald. 5 May 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  11. "Women caught in fog". Glasgow Herald. 12 May 1979. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  12. "Muriel earns £40 on debut". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 19 May 1979. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. Jacobs, Raymond (26 May 1979). "Christine has a Carlsberg double". Glasgow Herald. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  14. "Panter beats Panton by one". Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  15. "Vanessa's win by five strokes". Glasgow Herald. 9 June 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  16. "Beverly beats the regulars". Glasgow Herald. 16 June 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  17. "Christine again". Glasgow Herald. 23 June 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  18. "Mickey snatches Cathy's record". Glasgow Herald. 30 June 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  19. "Cathy throws away chance of victory". Glasgow Herald. 7 July 1979. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  20. "70 grabs second place for Muriel". Glasgow Herald. 7 July 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  21. "Birdie finish gives Alison British title". Glasgow Herald. 30 July 1979. p. 15 – via Google News Archive.
  22. "Muriel finishes down field". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 1 September 1979. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. "Christine holds on". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 15 September 1979. p. 18 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. "Portrush winner". Belfast Telegraph. 24 September 1979. p. 21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  25. "Weekend results | Golf". The Guardian. 1 October 1979. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Muriel's title hope go down the last". Glasgow Herald. 29 October 1979. p. 20 – via Google News Archive.
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