The 1976 European Tour, titled as the 1976 PGA Tournament Players' Division,[1] was the fifth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 8 April 1976 – 24 October 1976 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 21 |
| Most wins |  Baldovino Dassù (2) Sam Torrance (2) |
| Order of Merit |  Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Mark James |
← 1975 1977 → | |
Changes for 1976 edit
The season was made up of 21 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non-counting tournaments that later became known as "Approved Special Events". The schedule included the major national opens around Europe, with the other tournaments mostly held in England and Scotland.[2]
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Greater Manchester Open and the Uniroyal International;[3] along with non-counting events the Cacharel World Under-25 Championship and the Lancome Trophy; and the Benson & Hedges Festival being retitled as the Benson & Hedges International Open.
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 1976 season.[4][5]
Unofficial events edit
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May | Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball | England | 12,000 |  Eamonn Darcy and Christy O'Connor Jnr
|
Team event |
| 5 Jun | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | n/a | Eamonn Darcy
|
New tournament |
| 3 Jul | Phillip Morris International | France | n/a |  Team USA
|
Team event |
| 21 Aug | Double Diamond International | Scotland | 25,000 | Team England
|
Team event |
| 18 Sep |
T.P.D. Under-25 Championship | England | 5,000 | Howard Clark
|
|
| 9 Oct | Piccadilly World Match Play Championship | England | 75,000 |  David Graham
|
Limited-field event |
| 17 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | US$40,000 | Seve Ballesteros
|
New to European Tour |
| 12 Dec | World Cup | United States | US$4,200 | Seve Ballesteros and Manuel Piñero
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | US$2,100 |  Ernesto Pérez Acosta
|
Order of Merit edit
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[5][6][7]
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros |
21,495 | 39,504 |
| 2 | Eamonn Darcy |
16,741 | 25,027 |
| 3 | Sam Torrance |
16,627 | 20,917 |
| 4 | Manuel Piñero |
16,474 | 19,946 |
| 5 | Tommy Horton |
16,185 | 22,781 |
| 6 | Neil Coles |
15,976 | 20,543 |
| 7 | Martin Foster |
12,669 | 17,436 |
| 8 | Brian Barnes |
12,256 | 23,350 |
| 9 | Baldovino Dassù |
11,961 | 13,405 |
| 10 |  Simon Hobday |
11,893 | 15,196 |
Awards edit
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mark James |
[8] |
Notes edit
- ^ 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 edit
- ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "Cold shoulder for Scots fans". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, United Kingdom. 12 December 1975. p. 25. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Ward-Thomas, Pat (12 December 1975). "Prize increases put £1m within reach". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 26. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1976 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b Simms, George (1977). World of Golf 1977. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 74–118. ISBN 0354090011.
- ^ "Sevvy tops table". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Order-of-Merit Europa 1976" [Order of Merit Europe 1976]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1977. p. 62. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Rookie James has found his professional touch pays off". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 1 October 1976. p. 15. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.