1974 European Tour
The 1974 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tournament circuit. It is officially recognised as the third season of the PGA European Tour.
| Duration | 10 April 1974 – 10 November 1974 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 21 |
| Most wins | 3 – Maurice Bembridge, Peter Oosterhuis |
| Order of Merit | Peter Oosterhuis |
| Leading money winner | Peter Oosterhuis |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Carl Mason |
← 1973 1975 → | |
Historically, the PGA's Order of Merit only included tournaments in Great Britain and Ireland, but in 1970 events in continental Europe were included for the first time. The circuit and organisation evolved further over the following years, adopting the name PGA European Golf Tour in 1979.[1]
The Order of Merit was won by England's Peter Oosterhuis.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1974 European Tour schedule which 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 other tournaments mostly held in England, Scotland and Wales.[2]
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Double Diamond Strokeplay, the El Paraiso Open and the non-counting Ibergolf Trophy to conclude the season;[2] and the loss of the Scottish Open.[3] The John Player Classic was scheduled for late September, but ultimately cancelled due to a clash of dates with the PGA Tour's Kaiser International Open Invitational.[4]
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- The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships since, although not official tour events at the time, they have been recognised as such retrospecively. Victories in tournaments later designated as "Approved Special Events", along with other events not counting towards the Order of Merit, are not recognised as official tour wins.
Order of Merit
The PGA European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit". It was based on a points system, which meant that some players could finish lower than others despite accumulating more prize money.[5]
| Position | Player | Country | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Oosterhuis |  England | 2,964.99 | 32,127 |
| 2 | Dale Hayes | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Africa | 2,378.83 | 18,396 |
| 3 | Bernard Gallacher |  Scotland | 2,148.40 | 18,515 |
| 4 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 2,110.50 | 14,380 |
| 5 | Neil Coles | England | 2,079.85 | 13,961 |
| 6 | Vicente Fernández |  Argentina | 2,061.16 | 7,819 |
| 7 | Tony Jacklin | England | 2,032.50 | 19,547 |
| 8 | Brian Huggett | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales | 2,031.93 | 12,373 |
| 9 | Peter Townsend | England | 1,979.62 | 15,828 |
| 10 | Tommy Horton | England | 1,902.36 | 11,343 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Carl Mason | England |
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- Jacobs, Raymond (21 December 1973). "Prize money next year will reach record £660,000". Glasgow Herald. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- "No TV—No Scots' open". Glasgow Herald. 23 November 1973. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- Jacobs, Raymond (6 March 1974). "Player Classic is dropped". Glasgow Herald. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- "Runaway win for Peter Oosterhuis". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 5 November 1974. p. 20. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.