1973 European Tour


The 1973 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association tournament circuit. It is officially recognised as the second season of the PGA European Tour.
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.
The Order of Merit was won by England's Peter Oosterhuis.

Schedule

The table below shows the 1973 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.
There were three changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Portuguese Open and the Scandinavian Enterprise Open, and the loss of the John Player Trophy.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerNotes
28–31 MarMadrid OpenSpain Germán Garrido
4–7 AprPortuguese OpenPortugal Jaime Benito New tournament to the circuit
5–8 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Tommy Aaron Major championship; non-tour event
11–14 AprSpanish OpenSpain Neil Coles
18–21 AprItalian OpenItaly Tony Jacklin
25–28 AprPiccadilly MedalEngland Peter Oosterhuis
10–12 MayPenfold-Bournemouth TournamentEngland Eddie Polland
16–19 MaySumrie Better-BallEngland Neil Coles &
Bernard Hunt 		Pairs event; not counting for the Order of Merit
23–26 MayBenson & Hedges Match Play ChampionshipEngland Neil Coles
31 May – 3 JunFrench OpenFrance Peter Oosterhuis
6–9 JunMartini InternationalScotland Maurice Bembridge
14–16 JunCoca-Cola Young Professionals' ChampionshipEngland Bernard Gallacher Approved special event
14–17 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Johnny Miller Major championship; non-tour event
21–24 JunCarroll's InternationalRepublic of Ireland Paddy McGuirk
27–30 JunSunbeam Electric Scottish OpenScotland Graham Marsh
11–14 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Tom Weiskopf Major championship
19–22 JulScandinavian Enterprise OpenSweden Bob Charles New tournament
26–29 JulSwiss OpenSwitzerland Hugh Baiocchi
2–5 AugGerman OpenWest Germany Francisco Abreu
8–12 AugDutch OpenNetherlands Doug McClelland
9–12 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Jack Nicklaus Major championship; non-tour event
15–18 AugBenson & Hedges FestivalEngland Vin Baker
22–25 AugViyella PGA ChampionshipEngland Peter Oosterhuis
30 Aug – 1 SepDouble Diamond InternationalEngland ScotlandApproved special event; team event
5–8 SepW.D. & H.O. Wills TournamentEngland Charles Coody
20–22 SeptRyder CupScotland United StatesApproved special event; team event
26–29 SepJohn Player ClassicScotland Charles Coody
3–6 OctDunlop MastersWales Tony Jacklin
11–13 OctPiccadilly World Match PlayEngland Gary Player Approved special event

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.
PositionPlayerCountryPointsPrize money
1Peter Oosterhuis3,440.4217,455
2Maurice Bembridge2,980.1410,773
3Hugh Baiocchi2,904.3511,870
4Dale Hayes2,736.0710,188
5Brian Barnes2,675.629,778
6Eddie Polland2,635.258,146
7Tony Jacklin24,840
8Bernard Gallacher8,676
9Neil Coles14,748
10Jack Newton7,939

Awards