The 1978 PGA Tour was the 63rd season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 10th season since separating from the PGA of America.

1978 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 5, 1978 (1978-01-05) – November 5, 1978 (1978-11-05)
Number of official events44
Most winsUnited States Tom Watson (5)
Money listUnited States Tom Watson
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson
1977
1979

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1978 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 8 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open Arizona 200,000   Tom Watson (9)
Jan 15 Phoenix Open Arizona 225,000   Miller Barber (11)
Jan 23 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 225,000   Tom Watson (10) Pro-Am
Jan 29 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational California 200,000   Jay Haas (1)
Feb 5 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 250,000   Hubert Green (13)
Feb 13 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 225,000   Bill Rogers (1) Pro-Am
Feb 19 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open California 200,000   Gil Morgan (2)
Feb 26 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic Florida 250,000   Jack Nicklaus (65)
Mar 6 Florida Citrus Open Florida 200,000   Mac McLendon (3)
Mar 12 Doral-Eastern Open Florida 200,000   Tom Weiskopf (14)
Mar 19 Tournament Players Championship Florida 300,000   Jack Nicklaus (66) Special event
Mar 26 Heritage Classic South Carolina 225,000   Hubert Green (14) Invitational
Apr 2 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 240,000   Seve Ballesteros (1)
Apr 9 Masters Tournament Georgia 262,402   Gary Player (22) Major championship
Apr 9 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 35,000   Craig Stadler (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Apr 16 MONY Tournament of Champions California 225,000   Gary Player (23) Winners-only event
Apr 16 Tallahassee Open Florida 80,000   Barry Jaeckel (1) Alternate event
Apr 23 Houston Open Texas 200,000   Gary Player (24)
Apr 30 First NBC New Orleans Open Louisiana 200,000   Lon Hinkle (1)
May 7 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 200,000   Tom Watson (11)
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas 200,000   Lee Trevino (23) Invitational
May 14 Oklahoma City Open Oklahoma 45,000   Jeff Hewes (n/a) Second Tour[b]
May 21 Memorial Tournament Ohio 250,000   Jim Simons (2) Invitational
May 28 Atlanta Classic Georgia 200,000   Jerry Heard (5)
Jun 4 Kemper Open North Carolina 300,000   Andy Bean (2)
Jun 11 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 250,000   Andy Bean (3)
Jun 18 U.S. Open Colorado 310,200   Andy North (2) Major championship
Jun 18 Buick-Goodwrench Open Michigan 100,000   Jack Newton (1) Alternate event
Jun 25 Canadian Open Canada 250,000   Bruce Lietzke (3)
Jul 2 Western Open Illinois 225,000   Andy Bean (4)
Jul 9 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 150,000   Lee Elder (3)
Jul 15 The Open Championship Scotland £125,000   Jack Nicklaus (67) Major championship[c]
Jul 16 Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open Illinois 150,000   Victor Regalado (2) Alternate event
Jul 23 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 250,000   Jack Nicklaus (68)
Jul 30 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open Connecticut 210,000   Rod Funseth (3)
Aug 6 PGA Championship Pennsylvania 300,000   John Mahaffey (2) Major championship
Aug 13 American Optical Classic Massachusetts 225,000   John Mahaffey (3)
Aug 20 American Express Westchester Classic New York 300,000   Lee Elder (4)
Aug 27 Colgate Hall of Fame Classic North Carolina 250,000   Tom Watson (12)
Sep 4 B.C. Open New York 225,000   Tom Kite (2)
Sep 10 Southern Open Georgia 175,000   Jerry Pate (5)
Sep 17 San Antonio Texas Open Texas 200,000   Ron Streck (1)
Sep 24 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic California 200,000   Tom Watson (13)
Oct 1 World Series of Golf Ohio 400,000   Gil Morgan (3) Limited-field event
Oct 29 Pensacola Open Florida 125,000   Mac McLendon (4)
Nov 5 Walt Disney World National Team Championship Florida 200,000   Wayne Levi (1) and
  Bob Mann (1)
Team event

Unofficial events

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The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) Notes
Dec 3 World Cup Hawaii n/a   John Mahaffey and
  Andy North
Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy   John Mahaffey

Money list

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The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Tom Watson 362,429
2   Gil Morgan 267,459
3   Andy Bean 267,241
4   Jack Nicklaus 256,672
5   Hubert Green 247,406
6   Lee Trevino 228,723
7   Hale Irwin 191,666
8   Billy Kratzert 183,681
9   Gary Player 177,336
10   Jerry Pate 171,999

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year   Tom Watson [3]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)   Tom Watson [3]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ a b Official money; unofficial win.
  3. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

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  1. ^ "1979 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Final 1978 PGA Money Winners". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. November 5, 1978. p. 51 (7-E in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Watson Named PGA Player of Year". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. November 13, 1978. p. 14 (B-6 in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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