1972 European Tour
The 1972 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tournament circuit. It is officially recognised as the first season of the PGA European Tour.
| Duration | 12 April 1972 – 22 October 1972 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 20 |
| Most wins | 2:[lower-alpha 1] Bob Charles.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Graham Marsh Jack Newton |
| Order of Merit |  Peter Oosterhuis |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Sam Torrance |
1973 → | |
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 England's Peter Oosterhuis, who also led the standings in prize money and stroke average.[2]
Changes for 1972
There were several changes from the previous year's British PGA circuit schedule, with the inclusion of the Madrid Open, the Dutch Open and the Lancia d'Oro tournament; they joined the five national opens in continental Europe that were included in 1971.[3] Also added were the John Player Trophy and the Scottish Open, and the returning John Player Classic and Sumrie Better-Ball tournaments;[4] lost from the calendar were the Agfa-Gevaert Tournament, the Classic International, the Daks Tournament and the Gallaher Ulster Open.[5]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1972 season. The season made up of 20 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 and Scotland.[5]
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May | Sumrie Better-Ball | England | 10,000 | Malcolm Gregson and Brian Huggett |
Team event |
| 3 Jun | Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship | England | n/a | Peter Oosterhuis |
|
| 2 Sep | Double Diamond International | England | 15,000 | Team England |
Team event |
| 14 Oct | Piccadilly World Match Play Championship | England | 25,000 |  Tom Weiskopf |
8-player field |
| 12 Nov | World Cup | Australia | US$2,000 |  Hsieh Min-Nan and Lu Liang-Huan |
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | US$1,000 | Hsieh Min-Nan |
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.[2]
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Oosterhuis | 1751 | 18,525 |
| 2 | Guy Hunt | 1710 | 9,808 |
| 3 | Brian Huggett | 1702 | 10,166 |
| 4 | Peter Townsend | 1639 | 8,592 |
| 5 | Jack Newton | 1636 | 8,899 |
| 6 | John Garner | 1616 | 8,005 |
| 7 | Peter Butler | 1613 | 8,375 |
| 8 | Brian Barnes | 1602 | 9,103 |
| 9 | Neil Coles | 1597 | 8,629 |
| 10 | Clive Clark | 1575 | 5,831 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Sam Torrance |
Notes
- Jack Nicklaus also won 2 events, but was not a European Tour member.
- 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 which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
- Ryde, Peter (11 November 1972). "A man of supreme merit". The Times. p. 6. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "Extra £32,000 at stake for Britons". The Times. 7 December 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 24 February 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- Dunn, Alan (23 February 1972). "New season enlivened". The Guardian. p. 22. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Nearly £500,000 prize-money in British season". Glasgow Herald. 5 January 1972. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.