1976 European Tour


The 1976 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association Tournament Players’ Division circuit. It is officially recognised as the fifth 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 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. There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Greater Manchester Open and the Uniroyal International; 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.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerNotes
8–11 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Raymond Floyd Major championship; non-tour event
14–17 AprPortuguese OpenPortugal Salvador Balbuena
21–24 AprSpanish OpenSpain Eddie Polland
28 Apr – 1 MayMadrid OpenSpain Francisco Abreu
6–9 MayFrench OpenFrance Vincent Tshabalala
12–15 MayPiccadilly MedalEngland Sam Torrance
19–22 MaySumrie-Bournemouth Better-BallEngland Eamonn Darcy &
Christy O'Connor Jnr 		Pairs event; not counting for the Order of Merit
28–31 MayPenfold PGA ChampionshipEngland Neil Coles
2–5 JunCacharel World Under-25 ChampionshipFrance Eamonn Darcy New tournament; not counting for the Order of Merit
4–7 JunKerrygold International ClassicRepublic of Ireland Tony Jacklin
9–12 JunMartini InternationalEngland Sam Torrance
17–20 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Jerry Pate Major championship; non-tour event
17–20 JunGreater Manchester OpenEngland John O'Leary New tournament
23–26 JunUniroyal InternationalEngland Tommy Horton New tournament
30 Jun – 3 JulPhillip Morris InternationalFrance United StatesApproved special event; team event
7–10 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Johnny Miller Major championship
15–18 JulScandinavian Enterprise OpenSweden Hugh Baiocchi
22–25 JulSwiss OpenSwitzerland Manuel Piñero
5–8 AugDutch OpenNetherlands Seve Ballesteros
12–15 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Dave Stockton Major championship; non-tour event
12–15 AugGerman OpenWest Germany Simon Hobday
17–18 AugDouble Diamond Individual ChampionshipScotland Simon Owen
19–21 AugDouble Diamond InternationalScotland EnglandTeam event; not counting for the Order of Merit
26–29 AugCarroll's Irish OpenRepublic of Ireland Ben Crenshaw
2–5 SepSun Alliance Match Play ChampionshipEngland Brian Barnes
16–18 Sep
15–17 Jul		T.P.D. Under-25 ChampionshipEngland Howard Clark Not counting for the Order of Merit
22–25 SepBenson and Hedges International OpenEngland Graham Marsh
29 Sep – 2 OctDunlop MastersWales Baldovino Dassù
7–9 OctPiccadilly World Match PlayEngland David Graham Approved special event
14–17 OctLancome TrophyFrance Seve Ballesteros New tournament; approved special event
21–24 OctItalian OpenItaly Baldovino Dassù

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
1Seve Ballesteros21,494.8239,504
2Eamonn Darcy16,740.8725,027
3Sam Torrance16,627.1620,917
4Manuel Piñero16,474.0019,946
5Tommy Horton16,184.8822,781
6Neil Coles15,975.7220,543
7Martin Foster12,668.5717,436
8Brian Barnes12,255.7423,350
9Baldovino Dassù12,160.7813,405
10Simon Hobday11,892.9715,196

Awards