1980 European Tour
The 1980 European Tour was the ninth official season of golf tournaments known as the PGA European Tour and organised by the Professional Golfers' Association.
| Duration | 17 April 1980 – 26 October 1980 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 23 |
| Most wins | 3 – Seve Ballesteros |
| Order of Merit | Sandy Lyle |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Paul Hoad |
← 1979 1981 → | |
The Order of Merit was won by Scotland's Sandy Lyle.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1980 European Tour schedule which was made up of 23 tournaments counting for the Official Money List, and some non-counting tournaments later known as "Approved Special Events". There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Newcastle Brown "900" Open, the Merseyside International Open and the Bob Hope British Classic; and the loss of the British PGA Matchplay Championship, the Portuguese Open and the Belgian Open.[1][2]
- 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 "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
Official Money List
In 1980, the PGA European Tour's money list was retitled as the "Official Money List" having previously been known as the "Order of Merit".[3] 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 | Sandy Lyle |  Scotland | 66,060 |
| 2 | Greg Norman | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | 74,829 |
| 3 | Seve Ballesteros | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Spain | 52,090 |
| 4 | Nick Faldo |  England | 46,054 |
| 5 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 38,598 |
| 6 | Mark James | England | 33,907 |
| 7 | José María Cañizares | Spain | 35,534 |
| 8 | Ken Brown | Scotland | 33,220 |
| 9 | Bernhard Langer |  West Germany | 32,395 |
| 10 | Des Smyth |  Ireland | 31,521 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Paul Hoad | England |
References
- Plumridge, Christopher (19 December 1979). "Television feat on 1980 tour". The Guardian. London, England. p. 21. Retrieved 10 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Now Euro stars chase record £1.8m in circuit cash bonanza". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, England. 20 December 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 10 June 2020 – via British Newspapers Archive.
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 21 June 2013.