1977 European Tour
{{Short description|Golf tour season}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox golf season
| year = 1977
| tour = European Tour
| regular_season = {{Start date|1977|4|6|df=y}} – {{end date|1977|10|1|df=y}}
| no_of_events = 22
| most_wins = {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros (3)
| honor1 = Order of Merit
| honoree1 = {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros
| honor2 = Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year
| honoree2 = {{flagicon|ENG}} Nick Faldo
| honor3 =
| honoree3 =
| honor4 =
| honoree4 =
| prevseason = 1976
| nextseason = 1978
}}
The 1977 European Tour, titled as the 1977 PGA European Tournament Players' Division,{{cite web |url=http://www.europeantour.com/tourgroup/history/index.html |title=Tour History |publisher=European Tour |access-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404045237/http://www.europeantour.com/tourgroup/history/index.html |archive-date=4 April 2010}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gJvYqgvvYkC&pg=PA103 |title=Duel in the Sun |author=Corcoran, Michael |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=11 May 2010 |page=103 |isbn=9781439141922}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000769/19761223/390/0029 |first=Neville |last=Foulger |title=Cash boost as top players chase rising pound! |newspaper=Coventry Evening Telegraph |location=Coventry, United Kingdom |date=23 December 1976 |page=29 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 June 2020}} was the sixth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
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.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19761221/312/0010 |first=David |last=Davies |title=European golf prizes top £1m |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=Birmingham, United Kingdom |date=21 December 1976 |page=10 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |accessdate=12 June 2020}} Two events not counting for the Order of Merit, the Phillip Morris Nations Cup and the Sumrie Better-Ball, originally pencilled in for May,{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19761216/529/0022 |title=Golf |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |location=Liverpool, United Kingdom |date=16 December 1976 |page=22 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 June 2020}} were cancelled.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002471/19770420/456/0026 |title=No Sumrie |newspaper=Reading Evening Post |location=Reading, United Kingdom |date=20 April 1977 |page=26 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 June 2020}}
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1977 season.{{cite web |title=1977 Tournament schedule |url=https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/schedule/1977/ |publisher=European Tour |access-date=21 October 2023}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Date !Tournament !Host country !Purse !Winner{{efn|name=totals|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.}} !Notes |
| 9 Apr
|Portugal |align=right|25,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Manuel Ramos (1) | |
| style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|10 Apr |United States |align=right|US$280,477 |{{flagicon|USA}} Tom Watson (2) |Major championship{{efn|name=unofficial|Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.}} |
| 16 Apr
|Spain |align=right|30,000 |{{flagicon|SCO}} Bernard Gallacher (4) | |
| 23 Apr
|Spain |align=right|21,500 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Antonio Garrido (2) | |
| 1 May
|Italy |align=right|25,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Ángel Gallardo (1) | |
| 8 May
|France |align=right|23,500 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros (2) | |
| 14 May
|Benson & Hedges International Open |England |align=right|40,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Antonio Garrido (3) | |
| 21 May
|Sun Alliance Match Play Championship |England |align=right|20,000 |{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Hugh Baiocchi (4) | |
| 28 May
|England |align=right|50,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Manuel Piñero (3) | |
| 5 Jun
|Ireland |align=right|15,000 |{{flagicon|IRL}} Liam Higgins (1) | |
| 11 Jun
|England |align=right|15,000 |{{flagicon|AUS}} Greg Norman (1) | |
| 19 Jun
|England |align=right|20,000 |{{flagicon|IRL}} Eamonn Darcy (1) | |
| style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|19 Jun |United States |align=right|US$200,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Hubert Green (n/a) |Major championship{{efn|name=unofficial}} |
| 25 Jun
|Uniroyal International Championship |England |align=right|30,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros (3) | |
| style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|9 Jul |Scotland |align=right|100,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Tom Watson (3) |
| 17 Jul
|Switzerland |align=right|35,000 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros (4) | |
| 24 Jul
|Sweden |align=right|45,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Bob Byman (1) | |
| 31 Jul
|England |align=right|25,000 |{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} John Fourie (1) |New tournament |
| 7 Aug
|West Germany |align=right|30,000 |{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Tienie Britz (1) | |
| 14 Aug
|Netherlands |align=right|30,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Bob Byman (2) | |
| style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|14 Aug |United States |align=right|US$250,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Lanny Wadkins (n/a) |Major championship{{efn|name=unofficial}} |
| 17 Aug
|Scotland |align=right|20,000 |{{flagicon|ENG}} Nick Faldo (1) | |
| 28 Aug
|Ireland |align=right|40,000 |{{flagicon|USA}} Hubert Green (n/a) | |
| 10 Sep
|Tournament Players Championship |England |align=right|40,000 |{{flagicon|ENG}} Neil Coles (6) |New tournament |
| 1 Oct
|England |align=right|40,000 |{{flagicon|ENG}} Guy Hunt (1) | |
=Unofficial events=
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Date !Tournament !Host country !Purse !Winner(s) !Notes |
| 2 Jul
|France |align=center|– |Cancelled |Team event |
| 20 Aug
|Scotland |align=right|25,000 |{{flagdeco|USA}} Team USA |Team event |
| 17 Sep
|England |align=center|n/a |{{flagdeco|USA}} Team USA |Team event |
| 8 Oct
|Colgate World Match Play Championship |England |align=right|130,000 |{{flagicon|AUS}} Graham Marsh |Limited-field event |
| 16 Oct
|France |align=right|50,000 |{{flagicon|AUS}} Graham Marsh | |
| rowspan=2|11 Dec
|rowspan=2|Philippines |align=right|US$4,200 |{{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros and |Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy
|align=right|US$2,100 |{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Gary Player | |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.{{cite book |title=World of Golf 1978 |first=George |last=Simms |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's |date=1978 |isbn=0354090356 |url=https://archive.org/details/bwb_KR-508-425/mode/1up |via=Archive.org |pages=70–110 |access-date=24 November 2023}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.e-magin.se/paper/jpp3fq7z/paper/32#/paper/76ntxt1x/17 |title=Penningligan-77: Europa |trans-title=Money list-77: Europe |language=sv |magazine=Svensk Golf |access-date=21 October 2023 |date=January 1978 |issue=1 |page=17}}
| class="wikitable"
!Position !! Player !! Points !! Prize money (£) | |||
| align=center|1 | {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Seve Ballesteros | align=center|28,699 | align=center|46,436 |
| align=center|2 | {{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Hugh Baiocchi | align=center|24,159 | align=center|32,251 |
| align=center|3 | {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Antonio Garrido | align=center|19,728 | align=center|21,581 |
| align=center|4 | {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Manuel Piñero | align=center|19,173 | align=center|26,569 |
| align=center|5 | {{flagicon|USA}} Bob Byman | align=center|18,959 | align=center|19,452 |
| align=center|6 | {{flagicon|SCO}} Brian Barnes | align=center|16,344 | align=center|17,557 |
| align=center|7 | {{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Dawson | align=center|15,941 | align=center|17,583 |
| align=center|8 | {{flagicon|ENG}} Nick Faldo | align=center|14,752 | align=center|23,978 |
| align=center|9 | {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Francisco Abreu | align=center|13,019 | align=center|13,293 |
| align=center|10 | {{flagicon|ESP|1977}} Ángel Gallardo | align=center|12,975 | align=center|14,765 |
Awards
| class="wikitable"
!Award!!Winner!!{{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | ||
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | {{flagicon|ENG}} Nick Faldo | {{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/750604629/ |title=Award for Faldo |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London, United Kingdom |page=32 |date=7 October 1977 |access-date=21 October 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}} |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official site|https://www.europeantour.com/}}
{{European Tour Seasons}}