1978 European Tour
The 1978 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association European Tournament Players’ Division circuit. It is officially recognised as the seventh 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, with the title of the circuit being changed to PGA European Golf Tour in 1979.
The Order of Merit was won by Spain's Seve Ballesteros.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1978 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, Wales and Scotland.There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Belgian Open, the B.A./Avis Open in Jersey, and the European Open; the return of the Sumrie Better-Ball; and the loss of the Uniroyal International Championship, the Callers of Newcastle, and the Double Diamond team and individual events. In addition, the Kerrygold International was omitted from the schedule in 1978 due to the World Cup being held at Waterville. The Lancome Trophy, which clashed with the new European Open, was also missing.
Dates | Tournament | Host country | Winner | Notes |
6–9 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | Gary Player | Major championship; non-tour event |
12–15 Apr | Portuguese Open | Portugal | Howard Clark | |
19–22 Apr | Spanish Open | Spain | Brian Barnes | |
26–29 Apr | Madrid Open | Spain | Howard Clark | |
4–7 May | Italian Open | Italy | Dale Hayes | |
12–15 May | French Open | France | Dale Hayes | |
18–21 May | Martini International | England | Seve Ballesteros | |
26–29 May | Colgate PGA Championship | England | Nick Faldo | |
1–4 Jun | B.A./Avis Open | Jersey | Brian Huggett | New tournament |
8–11 Jun | Belgian Open | Belgium | Noel Ratcliffe | New tournament |
15–18 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | Andy North | Major championship; non-tour event |
15–18 Jun | Greater Manchester Open | England | Brian Barnes | |
21–24 Jun | Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball | England | Eamonn Darcy & Christy O'Connor Jnr | Pairs event, non-counting for the Order of Merit |
28 Jun – 1 Jul | Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | Scotland | Mark James | |
12–15 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | Jack Nicklaus | Major championship |
21–23 Jul | Dutch Open | Netherlands | Bob Byman | |
27–30 Jul | Braun German Open | West Germany | Seve Ballesteros | |
3–6 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | John Mahaffey | Major championship; non-tour event |
3–6 Aug | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | Seve Ballesteros | |
9–12 Aug | Benson and Hedges International Open | England | Lee Trevino | |
24–27 Aug | Carroll's Irish Open | Republic of Ireland | Ken Brown | |
31 Aug – 3 Sep | Swiss Open | Switzerland | Seve Ballesteros | |
14–17 Sep | Tournament Players Championship | England | Brian Waites | |
21–23 Sep | Hennessy Cognac Cup | France | Great Britain and Ireland | Approved special event; team event |
4–7 Oct | Dunlop Masters | Wales | Tommy Horton | |
12–15 Oct | Colgate World Match Play Championship | England | Isao Aoki | Approved special event |
12–15 Oct | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | Jim Nelford | Approved special event |
19–22 Oct | European Open | England | Bobby Wadkins | New tournament |
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.Position | Player | Country | Points | Prize money |
1 | Seve Ballesteros | 47,177 | 54,348 | |
2 | Dale Hayes | 30,204 | 43,891 | |
3 | Nick Faldo | 28,495 | 37,912 | |
4 | Ken Brown | 24,929 | 29,843 | |
5 | Howard Clark | 24,473 | 32,739 | |
6 | Neil Coles | 23,150 | 30,348 | |
7 | Mark James | 19,020 | 27,861 | |
8 | Brian Barnes | 18,105 | 23,386 | |
9 | Bernard Gallacher | 17,714 | 21,812 | |
10 | Tommy Horton | 16,264 | 18,007 |