The 1979 European Tour was the eighth official season of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournaments known as the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

 and organised by the Professional Golfers' Association

Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland)

The Professional Golfers' Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...

.

The Order of Merit was won by Scotland's Sandy Lyle

Sandy Lyle

Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...

.

Schedule

The table below shows the 1979 European Tour schedule which was made up of 24 tournaments, which included the major national opens around Europe. The other tournaments were mostly held in England, Wales and Scotland. There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Welsh Golf Classic

Welsh Golf Classic

The Welsh Golf Classic was a mens professional golf tournament on the European Tour, that was held annually in Wales from 1979 to 1982.The inaugural event was held at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club near Cardiff, with the other three stagings taking place at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Mid Glamorgan.The...

 and Lada English Golf Classic, and the return of the Lancome Trophy.

Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	Notes
12–15 Apr	Portuguese Open Portuguese Open The Portuguese Open, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Estoril Open de Portugal, is an annual tournament on men's golf's European Tour. It has been played since 1953, with a few skipped years, and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since 1973...	Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	Brian Barnes Brian Barnes (golfer) Brian Barnes is a professional golfer. He was born in Addington, Surrey, England, and lives in England, but he represented Scotland at the international level...
19–22 Apr	Spanish Open Open de España The Open de España is the national open golf championship of Spain. It was founded in 1912 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the inception of the Tour in 1972. Except for a five year period in the early 1980s, the tournament has been played in April or May. In 2005 it was one...	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Dale Hayes Dale Hayes Dale Hayes is a South African professional golfer.-Career outline:Hayes won the 15–17 Boys category at the Junior World Golf Championships in 1969. He turned professional the following year and quickly became a successful pro. He won more than a dozen events in South Africa, and was runner up on...
26–29 Apr	Madrid Open	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Simon Hobday Simon Hobday Simon Hobday is a South African professional golfer who has won tournaments on three continents.Hobday was born in Mafikeng. He turned professional in 1969. He spent his regular career mainly on the Southern Africa Tour, where he won six times and the European Tour, where he won the 1976 German...
3–6 May	Italian Open Italian Open (golf) The BMW Italian Open, as it is currently known for sponsorship reasons, is the Italian national open golf championship for men. It was founded in 1925 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's first season in 1972....	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Brian Barnes Brian Barnes (golfer) Brian Barnes is a professional golfer. He was born in Addington, Surrey, England, and lives in England, but he represented Scotland at the international level...
10–13 May	French Open Open de France The Open de France is a European Tour golf tournament. Inaugurated in 1906 it is the oldest national open in Continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's inception in 1972....	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer.Gallacher was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Assocation Boys Championship. He won the 1967 Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship and turned professional the same...
17–20 May	Colgate PGA Championship	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Vicente Fernandez Vicente Fernandez (golfer) Vicente Fernández is an Argentine golfer who has won more than 60 professional tournaments around the world.Fernández was born in Corrientes, Argentina. He turned professional in 1964 and was a regular competitor on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s...
25–28 May	Martini International Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the European Tour's schedule from the tour's first official season in 1972 until the event ceased...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
31 May–3 Jun	B.A./Avis Open	Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...
7–10 Jun	Belgian Open	Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	Gavan Levenson Gavan Levenson Gavan Neil Levenson is a South African professional golfer.Levenson was born in Johannesburg. He represented South Africa in the 1976 Eisenhower Trophy and won several major amateur tournaments including the French and Rhodesian Open Amateur Championships in 1978...
14–17 Jun	Welsh Golf Classic Welsh Golf Classic The Welsh Golf Classic was a mens professional golf tournament on the European Tour, that was held annually in Wales from 1979 to 1982.The inaugural event was held at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club near Cardiff, with the other three stagings taking place at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Mid Glamorgan.The...	Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...	Mark James	New tournament
21–24 Jun	Greater Manchester Open Greater Manchester Open The Greater Manchester Open was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1976 to 1981. It was held at Wilmslow Golf Club in Wilmslow, Cheshire, just to the South of Manchester, one of the main cities of the North of England. Three of the six winners were from the Republic of...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Mark McNulty Mark McNulty Mark William McNulty is an Irish/Zimbabwean professional golfer currently playing on the Champions Tour. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, and cracked the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 83 weeks from 1987 to 1992.McNulty...
28 Jun–1 Jul	Lada English Golf Classic	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Seve Ballesteros	New tournament
5–8 Jul	Scandinavian Enterprise Open Scandinavian Enterprise Open The Scandinavian Enterprise Open was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in Sweden until 1990, when it had a prize fund of £400,000, which was mid-range for the tour at that time....	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...
18–21 Jul	The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...	Seve Ballesteros
26–29 Jul	Dutch Open	Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	Graham Marsh Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...
2–5 Aug	Sun Alliance Match Play Championship	Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...	Des Smyth Des Smyth Desmond John Smyth is an Irish professional golfer.Smyth was born in Drogheda, County Louth. He turned professional in 1974 and was a member of the European Tour for over a quarter of a century. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was seventh in 1988...
9–12 Aug	Benson and Hedges International Open	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Maurice Bembridge Maurice Bembridge Maurice Bembridge is an English golfer.Bembridge turned professional at an early age in 1960 and won the British Assistants’ Professional Championship in 1966 and 1967...
16–19 Aug	Braun German Open	West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....	Tony Jacklin Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer, who was the most successful British player of his generation. He was also the most successful European Ryder Cup captain ever.-Early life and education:...
23–26 Aug	Carroll's Irish Open	Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...	Mark James
30 Aug–2 Sept	Swiss Open	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Hugh Baiocchi Hugh Baiocchi Hugh John Baiocchi is a South African professional golfer who has won more than twenty professional tournaments around the world....
6–8 Sept	European Open European Open (golf) The European Open was a European Tour golf tournament. Founded in 1978, up to 1994 it was played at various courses in England, including Sunningdale and Walton Heath, except for the 1979 event, which was held at Turnberry in Scotland...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...
20–23 Sept	SOS Talisman TPC	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Michael King Michael King (golfer) Michael G. King is an English professional golfer.King was born in Reading, Berkshire. As an amateur, he won the Lytham Trophy in 1973, and played in the Walker Cup in 1969 and 1973....
3–6 Oct	Dunlop Masters	Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...	Graham Marsh Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...
25–28 Oct	Lancome Trophy	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Johnny Miller Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s; he ranked second in the world on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in both 1974 and 1975 behind Jack Nicklaus. He is currently the lead golf...

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	Prize money (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... )
1	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...		49,233
2	Seve Ballesteros		47,411
3	Mark James		38,534
4	Dale Hayes Dale Hayes Dale Hayes is a South African professional golfer.-Career outline:Hayes won the 15–17 Boys category at the Junior World Golf Championships in 1969. He turned professional the following year and quickly became a successful pro. He won more than a dozen events in South Africa, and was runner up on...	South Africa	32,540
5	Michael King Michael King (golfer) Michael G. King is an English professional golfer.King was born in Reading, Berkshire. As an amateur, he won the Lytham Trophy in 1973, and played in the Walker Cup in 1969 and 1973....		29,725
6	Brian Barnes Brian Barnes (golfer) Brian Barnes is a professional golfer. He was born in Addington, Surrey, England, and lives in England, but he represented Scotland at the international level...		28,204
7	Ken Brown Ken Brown (golfer) Ken Brown is a Scottish former European Tour golfer who now works as a golf broadcaster and writer, primarily for the BBC. He also works as part of the commentary team for the international coverage of the European Tour on selected events which are not covered by the BBC...		25,407
8	Antonio Garrido		24,665
9	Tony Jacklin Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer, who was the most successful British player of his generation. He was also the most successful European Ryder Cup captain ever.-Early life and education:...		22,179
10	Neil Coles Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE is an English professional golfer. As of 2005, Coles is only the second man to win a professional golf tournament in six different decades, starting in the 1950s and extending into the 21st century.Coles was born in England...		21,351

External links

• 1979 season results on the PGA European Tour website
• 1979 Order of Merit on the PGA European Tour website