1976 European Tour

1976 European Tour season
Duration	8 April 1976 – 24 October 1976
Number of official events	21
Most wins	Baldovino Dassù (2); Sam Torrance (2)
Order of Merit	Seve Ballesteros
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	Mark James
	← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 European Tour, titled as the 1976 PGA Tournament Players' Division,^[1] was the fifth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Changes for 1976

The season 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 & Hedges International Open.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1976 season.^[4]^[5]

Date	Tournament	Host country	Purse (£)	Winner^[a]	Notes
11 Apr	Masters Tournament	United States	US$254,852	Raymond Floyd (n/a)	Major championship^[b]
17 Apr	Portuguese Open	Portugal	15,000	Salvador Balbuena (1)
24 Apr	Spanish Open	Spain	30,525	Eddie Polland (3)
1 May	Madrid Open	Spain	18,500	Francisco Abreu (2)
9 May	French Open	France	22,200	Vincent Tshabalala (1)
15 May	Piccadilly Medal	England	40,000	Sam Torrance (1)
31 May	Penfold PGA Championship	England	50,000	Neil Coles (5)
6 Jun	Kerrygold International Classic	Ireland	12,500	Tony Jacklin (5)
12 Jun	Martini International	England	15,000	Sam Torrance (2)
20 Jun	Greater Manchester Open	England	12,000	John O'Leary (1)	New to European Tour
20 Jun	U.S. Open	United States	US$259,000	Jerry Pate (n/a)	Major championship^[b]
26 Jun	Uniroyal International	England	25,000	Tommy Horton (3)	New tournament
10 Jul	The Open Championship	England	75,000	Johnny Miller (n/a)	Major championship
18 Jul	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	Sweden	38,600	Hugh Baiocchi (3)
25 Jul	Swiss Open	Switzerland	31,300	Manuel Piñero (2)
8 Aug	Dutch Open	Netherlands	26,205	Seve Ballesteros (1)
15 Aug	German Open	West Germany	23,100	Simon Hobday (1)
15 Aug	PGA Championship	United States	US$250,000	Dave Stockton (n/a)	Major championship^[b]
18 Aug	Double Diamond Individual Championship	Scotland	10,000	Simon Owen (2)
29 Aug	Carroll's Irish Open	Ireland	35,000	Ben Crenshaw (n/a)
5 Sep	Sun Alliance Match Play Championship	England	20,000	Brian Barnes (4)
25 Sep	Benson & Hedges International Open	England	40,000	Graham Marsh (4)
2 Oct	Dunlop Masters	Wales	30,000	Baldovino Dassù (1)
24 Oct	Italian Open	Italy	27,000	Baldovino Dassù (2)

Unofficial events

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

Date	Tournament	Host country	Purse (£)	Winner(s)	Notes
22 May	Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball	England	12,000	Eamonn Darcy and Christy O'Connor Jnr	Team event
5 Jun	Cacharel World Under-25 Championship	France	n/a	Eamonn Darcy	New tournament
3 Jul	Phillip Morris International	France	n/a	Team USA	Team event
21 Aug	Double Diamond International	Scotland	25,000	Team England	Team event
18 Sep ~~17 Jul~~	T.P.D. Under-25 Championship	England	5,000	Howard Clark
9 Oct	Piccadilly World Match Play Championship	England	75,000	David Graham	Limited-field event
17 Oct	Trophée Lancôme	France	US$40,000	Seve Ballesteros	New to European Tour
12 Dec	World Cup	United States	US$4,200	Seve Ballesteros and Manuel Piñero	Team event
12 Dec	World Cup Individual Trophy	United States	US$2,100	Ernesto Pérez Acosta

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Position	Player	Points	Prize money (£)
1	Seve Ballesteros	21,495	39,504
2	Eamonn Darcy	16,741	25,027
3	Sam Torrance	16,627	20,917
4	Manuel Piñero	16,474	19,946
5	Tommy Horton	16,185	22,781
6	Neil Coles	15,976	20,543
7	Martin Foster	12,669	17,436
8	Brian Barnes	12,256	23,350
9	Baldovino Dassù	11,961	13,405
10	Simon Hobday	11,893	15,196

Awards

Award	Winner	Ref.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	Mark James	^[8]

Notes

^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins.
^ ^a ^b ^c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
^ "Cold shoulder for Scots fans". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, United Kingdom. 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. London, United Kingdom. p. 26. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1976 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Simms, George (1977). World of Golf 1977. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 74–118. ISBN 0354090011.
^ "Sevvy tops table". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
^ "Order-of-Merit Europa 1976" [Order of Merit Europe 1976]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1977. p. 62. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
^ "Rookie James has found his professional touch pays off". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 1 October 1976. p. 15. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

Official website

[totals-6] The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins.

[unofficial-7] Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

[history-1] "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

[2] "Cold shoulder for Scots fans". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, United Kingdom. 12 December 1975. p. 25. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[3] Ward-Thomas, Pat (12 December 1975). "Prize increases put £1m within reach". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 26. Retrieved 14 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "1976 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.

[wog77-5] Simms, George (1977). World of Golf 1977. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 74–118. ISBN 0354090011.

[8] "Sevvy tops table". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1976. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.

[9] "Order-of-Merit Europa 1976" [Order of Merit Europe 1976]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 1. January 1977. p. 62. Retrieved 21 October 2023.

[10] "Rookie James has found his professional touch pays off". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 1 October 1976. p. 15. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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