1975 European Tour Explained
The 1975 European Tour, titled as the 1975 PGA Tournament Players' Section,[1] was the fourth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 1975
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Carroll's Irish Open, which replaced the Carroll's International and the Kerrygold International Classic; and the loss of the Penfold Tournament, the W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament and the El Paraiso Open. Following the withdrawal of sponsors, Lord Derby's Young Professionals' Tournament and the Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship were also lost from the schedule, the PGA ultimately decided to sponsor an under-25's event themselves.[2]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1975 season.[3] [4] [5] [6]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse
(£) | Winner | Notes |
|---|
| 11 Apr | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 15,000 |  Hal Underwood (1) | |
| 13 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$242,750 | Jack Nicklaus (n/a) | Major championship |
| 19 Apr | Spanish Open | Spain | 30,000 | Arnold Palmer (n/a) | |
| 26 Apr | Madrid Open | Spain | 18,000 |  Bob Shearer (1) | |
| 4 May | French Open | France | 18,610 | Brian Barnes (3) | |
| 10 May | Piccadilly Medal | England | 15,000 | Bob Shearer (2) | |
| 26 May | Penfold PGA Championship | England | 50,000 | Arnold Palmer (n/a) | |
| 14 Jun | Martini International | England | 12,000 |  Christy O'Connor Jnr (1)
Ian Stanley (1) | Title shared[7] |
| 23 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$236,200 | Lou Graham (n/a) | Major championship |
| 12 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | 75,000 | Tom Watson (1) | Major championship |
| 20 Jul | Swiss Open | Switzerland | 25,000 |  Dale Hayes (1) | |
| 27 Jul | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | 32,500 | George Burns (1) | |
| 3 Aug | German Open | West Germany | 15,000 | Maurice Bembridge (5) | |
| 10 Aug | Dutch Open | Netherlands | 17,500 | Hugh Baiocchi (2) | |
| 10 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$225,000 | Jack Nicklaus (n/a) | Major championship |
| 16 Aug | Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf | England | 25,000 |  Vicente Fernández (1) | |
| 31 Aug | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 25,000 | Christy O'Connor Jnr (2) | New to European Tour |
| 6 Sep | Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | England | 20,000 | Eddie Polland (2) | |
| 14 Sep | Kerrygold International Classic | Ireland | 10,000 | George Burns (2) | New tournament |
| 24 Sep | Double Diamond Strokeplay | Scotland | 10,000 | Peter Dawson (1) | |
| 4 Oct | Dunlop Masters | England | 20,000 | Bernard Gallacher (3) | |
| 19 Oct | Italian Open | Italy | 20,000 | Billy Casper (n/a) | | |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[4] [8] [9]
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money (£) |
|---|
| 1 | | 17,488 | 20,508 |
| 2 | | 13,921 | 16,040 |
| 3 | | 11,988 | 14,846 |
| 4 | | 10,491 | 13,492 |
| 5 | | 9,996 | 12,040 |
| 6 | | 9,064 | 9,631 |
| 7 | | 8,690 | 11,979 |
| 8 | | 8,632 | 16,394 |
| 9 | | 8,264 | 10,109 |
| 10 | | 8,238 | 11,770 | |
Notes and References
- Web site: Tour History . European Tour . 17 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100404045237/http://www.europeantour.com/tourgroup/history/index.html . 4 April 2010.
- News: Pat . Ward-Thomas . The big hitters checked . The Guardian . London, United Kingdom . 25 February 1975 . 25 . Newspapers.com . 14 June 2020 . subscription.
- Web site: 1975 Tournament schedule . European Tour . 21 October 2023.
- Book: Simms, George . John Player Golf Yearbook 1976 . Queen Anne Press . 1976 . 0362002576 . 76–126.
- News: Pat . Ward-Thomas . Sun boost to £629,000 . The Guardian . London, United Kingdom . 18 December 1974 . 23 . Newspapers.com . 14 June 2020 . subscription.
- News: Raymond . Jacobs . Golf prize fund is only slightly down . Glasgow Herald . Glasgow, United Kingdom . 18 December 1974 . 3 . Google News Archive . 14 June 2020.
- News: Raymond . Jacobs . Two stroke it rich in Martini . Glasgow Herald . 16 June 1975 . 17 . Google News Archive . 14 June 2020.
- News: Hayes tops merit table . Aberdeen Press and Journal . Aberdeen, United Kingdom . 11 November 1975 . 20 . British Newspaper Archive . 14 June 2020 . subscription.
- Penningligan-75: Europa . Money list-75: Europe . sv . Svensk Golf . 21 October 2023 . January 1976 . 1 . 26.
