1977 European Tour

The 1977 European Tour, titled as the 1977 PGA European Tournament Players' Division,^[1][2][3] was the sixth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1977 European Tour season

Duration	6 April 1977 (1977-04-06) – 1 October 1977 (1977-10-01)
Number of official events	22
Most wins	Seve Ballesteros (3)
Order of Merit	Seve Ballesteros
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	Nick Faldo
← 1976 1978 →

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.^[3][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.^[7][8]

Date	Tournament	Host country	Purse (£)	Winner[a]	Notes
9 Apr	Portuguese Open	Portugal	25,000	Manuel Ramos (1)
10 Apr	Masters Tournament	United States	US$280,477	Tom Watson (2)	Major championship[b]
16 Apr	Spanish Open	Spain	30,000	Bernard Gallacher (4)
23 Apr	Madrid Open	Spain	21,500	Antonio Garrido (2)
1 May	Italian Open	Italy	25,000	Ángel Gallardo (1)
8 May	French Open	France	23,500	Seve Ballesteros (2)
14 May	Benson & Hedges International Open	England	40,000	Antonio Garrido (3)
21 May	Sun Alliance Match Play Championship	England	20,000	Hugh Baiocchi (4)
28 May	Penfold PGA Championship	England	50,000	Manuel Piñero (3)
5 Jun	Kerrygold International	Ireland	15,000	Liam Higgins (1)
11 Jun	Martini International	England	15,000	Greg Norman (1)
19 Jun	Greater Manchester Open	England	20,000	Eamonn Darcy (1)
19 Jun	U.S. Open	United States	US$200,000	Hubert Green (n/a)	Major championship[b]
25 Jun	Uniroyal International Championship	England	30,000	Seve Ballesteros (3)
9 Jul	The Open Championship	Scotland	100,000	Tom Watson (3)	Major championship
17 Jul	Swiss Open	Switzerland	35,000	Seve Ballesteros (4)
24 Jul	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	Sweden	45,000	Bob Byman (1)
31 Jul	Callers of Newcastle	England	25,000	John Fourie (1)	New tournament
7 Aug	German Open	West Germany	30,000	Tienie Britz (1)
14 Aug	Dutch Open	Netherlands	30,000	Bob Byman (2)
14 Aug	PGA Championship	United States	US$250,000	Lanny Wadkins (n/a)	Major championship[b]
17 Aug	Skol Lager Individual	Scotland	20,000	Nick Faldo (1)
28 Aug	Carroll's Irish Open	Ireland	40,000	Hubert Green (n/a)
10 Sep	Tournament Players Championship	England	40,000	Neil Coles (6)	New tournament
1 Oct	Dunlop Masters	England	40,000	Guy Hunt (1)

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	25,000	Team USA	Team event
17 Sep	Ryder Cup	England	n/a	Team USA	Team event
8 Oct	Colgate World Match Play Championship	England	130,000	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 tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.^[8][9]

Position	Player	Points	Prize money (£)
1	Seve Ballesteros	28,699	46,436
2	Hugh Baiocchi	24,159	32,251
3	Antonio Garrido	19,728	21,581
4	Manuel Piñero	19,173	26,569
5	Bob Byman	18,959	19,452
6	Brian Barnes	16,344	17,557
7	Peter Dawson	15,941	17,583
8	Nick Faldo	14,752	23,978
9	Francisco Abreu	13,019	13,293
10	Ángel Gallardo	12,975	14,765

Awards

Award	Winner	Ref.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	Nick Faldo	[10]

Notes

1. 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.
2. Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

1. "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
2. Corcoran, Michael (11 May 2010). Duel in the Sun. Simon and Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9781439141922.
3. Foulger, Neville (23 December 1976). "Cash boost as top players chase rising pound!". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, United Kingdom. p. 29. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. Davies, David (21 December 1976). "European golf prizes top £1m". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. p. 10. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Golf". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, United Kingdom. 16 December 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "No Sumrie". Reading Evening Post. Reading, United Kingdom. 20 April 1977. p. 26. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "1977 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
8. Simms, George (1978). World of Golf 1978. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 70–110. ISBN 0354090356. Retrieved 24 November 2023 – via Archive.org.
9. "Penningligan-77: Europa" [Money list-77: Europe]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
10. "Award for Faldo". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 7 October 1977. p. 32. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Official website