1976 European Tour
The 1976 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tournament Players’ Division circuit. It is officially recognised as the fifth season of the PGA European Tour.
| Duration | 14 April 1976 – 24 October 1976 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 21 |
| Most wins | 2 – Baldovino Dassù, Sam Torrance |
| Order of Merit | Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Mark James |
← 1975 1977 → | |
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 Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1976 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 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 and Hedges International Open.
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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.[4]
| Position | Player | Country | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Spain | 21,494.82 | 39,504 |
| 2 | Eamonn Darcy |  Ireland | 16,740.87 | 25,027 |
| 3 | Sam Torrance |  Scotland | 16,627.16 | 20,917 |
| 4 | Manuel Piñero | Spain | 16,474.00 | 19,946 |
| 5 | Tommy Horton |  England | 16,184.88 | 22,781 |
| 6 | Neil Coles | England | 15,975.72 | 20,543 |
| 7 | Martin Foster | England | 12,668.57 | 17,436 |
| 8 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 12,255.74 | 23,350 |
| 9 | Baldovino Dassù |  Italy | 12,160.78 | 13,405 |
| 10 | Simon Hobday | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Africa | 11,892.97 | 15,196 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mark James | England |
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- "Cold shoulder for Scots fans". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 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. p. 26. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Sevvy tops table". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.