The 1980 European Tour, titled as the 1980 PGA European Golf Tour,[1] was the ninth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1980 European Tour season
Duration10 April 1980 (1980-04-10) – 4 October 1980 (1980-10-04)
Number of official events23
Most winsSpain Seve Ballesteros (4)
Official money listScotland Sandy Lyle
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Paul Hoad
1979
1981

Changes for 1980

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There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Newcastle Brown "900" Open, the Merseyside International Open and the Bob Hope British Classic; and the loss of the British PGA Matchplay Championship, the Portuguese Open and the Belgian Open.[2][3]

The tour's money list was retitled as the "Official money list", having previously been known as the "Order of Merit".[1]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1980 season.[4]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[a] Notes
13 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$360,000   Seve Ballesteros (11) Major championship[b]
20 Apr Italian Open Italy 32,500   Massimo Mannelli (1)
27 Apr Madrid Open Spain 30,000   Seve Ballesteros (12)
4 May Benson & Hedges Spanish Open Spain 42,500   Eddie Polland (4)
11 May Paco Rabanne Open de France France 37,500   Greg Norman (3)
18 May Martini International England 55,000   Seve Ballesteros (13)
26 May Sun Alliance PGA Championship England 70,000   Nick Faldo (3)
1 Jun Avis Jersey Open Jersey 35,000   José María Cañizares (2)
8 Jun Newcastle Brown "900" Open England 42,000   Des Smyth (2) New tournament
15 Jun U.S. Open United States US$355,000   Jack Nicklaus (n/a) Major championship[b]
22 Jun Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open England 35,000   Des Smyth (3)
29 Jun Coral Welsh Classic Wales 35,000   Sandy Lyle (4)
6 Jul Scandinavian Enterprise Open Sweden 50,000   Greg Norman (4)
12 Jul Mazda Cars English Classic England 55,000   Manuel Piñero (4)
20 Jul The Open Championship Scotland 200,000   Tom Watson (4) Major championship
27 Jul Dutch Open Netherlands 32,500   Seve Ballesteros (14)
10 Aug Benson & Hedges International Open England 80,000   Graham Marsh (7)
10 Aug PGA Championship United States US$375,000   Jack Nicklaus (n/a) Major championship[b]
17 Aug Carroll's Irish Open Ireland 70,000   Mark James (4)
24 Aug Braun German Open West Germany 45,000   Mark McNulty (2)
31 Aug Swiss Open Switzerland 50,000   Nick Price (1)
7 Sep European Open Championship England 105,000   Tom Kite (n/a)
13 Sep Merseyside International Open England 15,000   Ian Mosey (1) New tournament
21 Sep Haig Whisky TPC England 55,000   Bernard Gallacher (6)
28 Sep Bob Hope British Classic England 90,000   José María Cañizares (3) New tournament
Pro-Am
4 Oct Dunlop Masters Wales 60,000   Bernhard Langer (1)

Unofficial events

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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
14 Sep Hennessy Cognac Cup England n/a    Team GB&I Team event
12 Oct Suntory World Match Play Championship England 100,000   Greg Norman Limited-field event
19 Oct Trophée Lancôme France 45,000   Lee Trevino
26 Oct Cacharel World Under-25 Championship France n/a   Jack Renner
14 Dec World Cup Colombia n/a   Dan Halldorson and
  Jim Nelford
Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy   Sandy Lyle

Official money list

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The official money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[5][6]

Position Player Prize money (£)
1   Sandy Lyle 43,346
2   Greg Norman 43,068
3   Seve Ballesteros 42,376
4   Nick Faldo 35,523
5   Brian Barnes 32,880
6   Mark James 29,991
7   José María Cañizares 29,840
8   Ken Brown 28,949
9   Bernhard Langer 26,920
10   Des Smyth 24,618

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year   Paul Hoad [7]

Notes

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. ^ Plumridge, Christopher (19 December 1979). "Television feat on 1980 tour". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 21. Retrieved 10 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Now Euro stars chase record £1.8m in circuit cash bonanza". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, United Kingdom. 20 December 1979. p. 33. Retrieved 10 June 2020 – via British Newspapers Archive.
  4. ^ "1980 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Europa-touren-80" [European Tour-80]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 9. September 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. ^ Dobereiner, Peter (6 October 1980). "Record win for Langer". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 17. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Two lead after Moon shot". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. 3 October 1980. p. 18. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Paul Hoad, aged 22, the former England amateur international has won Henry Cotton's 1980 "Rookie of the Year" award.
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