| Duration | 6 April 1978 – 22 October 1978 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 21 |
| Most wins |
Seve Ballesteros (4) |
| Order of Merit |
Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |
Sandy Lyle |
←
1977
1979 → | |
The 1978 European Tour, titled as the 1978 PGA European Tournament Players' Division, [1] was the seventh season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 1978
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 Championship; 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]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1978 season. [5] [6]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse ( £) |
Winner [a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$262,402 |
Gary Player (n/a)
|
Major championship [b] |
| 15 Apr | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 25,000 |
Howard Clark (1)
|
|
| 22 Apr | Spanish Open | Spain | 30,000 |
Brian Barnes (5)
|
|
| 29 Apr | Madrid Open | Spain | 20,500 |
Howard Clark (2)
|
|
| 7 May | Italian Open | Italy | 27,700 |
Dale Hayes (2)
|
|
| 15 May | French Open | France | 35,000 |
Dale Hayes (3)
|
|
| 21 May | Martini International | England | 30,000 |
Seve Ballesteros (5)
|
|
| 29 May | Colgate PGA Championship | England | 50,000 |
Nick Faldo (2)
|
|
| 4 Jun | B.A./Avis Open | Jersey | 20,000 |
Brian Huggett (2)
|
New tournament |
| 11 Jun | Belgian Open | Belgium | 25,000 |
Noel Ratcliffe (1)
|
New to European Tour |
| 18 Jun | Greater Manchester Open | England | 20,000 |
Brian Barnes (6)
|
|
| 18 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$310,200 |
Andy North (n/a)
|
Major championship [b] |
| 1 Jul | Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | Scotland | 40,000 |
Mark James (1)
|
|
| 15 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | 125,000 |
Jack Nicklaus (n/a)
|
Major championship |
| 23 Jul | Dutch Open | Netherlands | 30,300 |
Bob Byman (3)
|
|
| 30 Jul | Braun German Open | West Germany | 30,000 |
Seve Ballesteros (6)
|
|
| 6 Aug | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | 35,000 |
Seve Ballesteros (7)
|
|
| 6 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$300,000 |
John Mahaffey (n/a)
|
Major championship [b] |
| 12 Aug | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 50,000 |
Lee Trevino (n/a)
|
|
| 27 Aug | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 50,000 |
Ken Brown (1)
|
|
| 3 Sep | Swiss Open | Switzerland | 50,000 |
Seve Ballesteros (8)
|
|
| 17 Sep | Tournament Players Championship | England | 40,000 |
Brian Waites (1)
|
|
| 7 Oct | Dunlop Masters | Wales | 40,000 |
Tommy Horton (4)
|
|
| 22 Oct | European Open Championship | England | 105,000 |
Bobby Wadkins (n/a)
|
New tournament |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Jun | Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball | England | 20,000 |
Eamonn Darcy and
Christy O'Connor Jnr
|
Team event |
| 10 Sep | Donald Swaelens Memorial Tournament | Belgium | n/a |
Nick Faldo
|
Limited-field event |
| 23 Sep | Hennessy Cognac Cup | France | n/a |  Team GB&I
|
Team event |
| 15 Oct | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | n/a |
Jim Nelford
|
|
| 15 Oct | Colgate World Match Play Championship | England | 130,000 |
Isao Aoki
|
Limited-field event |
| 22 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 50,000 |
Lee Trevino
|
Limited-field event |
| 3 Dec | World Cup | United States | n/a |
John Mahaffey and
Andy North
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy |
John Mahaffey
|
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system. [6] [7] [8]
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money ( £) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Seve Ballesteros |
47,178 | 54,348 |
| 2 |
Dale Hayes |
30,205 | 43,891 |
| 3 |
Nick Faldo |
28,496 | 37,912 |
| 4 |
Ken Brown |
24,929 | 29,843 |
| 5 |
Howard Clark |
24,474 | 32,739 |
| 6 |
Neil Coles |
23,151 | 30,348 |
| 7 |
Mark James |
19,020 | 27,861 |
| 8 |
Brian Barnes |
18,105 | 23,386 |
| 9 |
Bernard Gallacher |
17,715 | 21,812 |
| 10 |
Tommy Horton |
16,265 | 18,007 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |
Sandy Lyle |
[9] |
Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (20 December 1977). "Our golf scene goes European". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, United Kingdom. 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, United Kingdom. p. 34. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Golf pros banned from tourney". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, United Kingdom. 28 April 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1978 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b Simms, George (1979). World of Golf 1979. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 87–133. ISBN 0354090690.
- ^ "Europa-touren-78" [European Tour-78]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1979. p. 35. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Ballesteros again". The Guardian. 3 November 1978. p. 22. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Solomons, David (7 October 1978). "Ace inspires Sandy in Masters". Evening Post. Bristol, United Kingdom. p. 2. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.