The 1981 European Tour, titled as the 1981 PGA European Golf Tour,[1] was the 10th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1981 European Tour season
Duration9 April 1981 (1981-04-09) – 4 October 1981 (1981-10-04)
Number of official events22
Most winsSpain Seve Ballesteros (2)
West Germany Bernhard Langer (2)
Scotland Sandy Lyle (2)
Australia Greg Norman (2)
Spain Manuel Piñero (2)
Official money listWest Germany Bernhard Langer
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Jeremy Bennett
1980
1982

Changes for 1981

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The season was made up of 22 tournaments counting for the Official money list, and some non-counting tournaments later known as "Approved Special Events".[2][3]

There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Lawrence Batley International,[4] and the loss of the Newcastle Brown "900" Open and the Merseyside International Open.

Rule changes

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The local rule that had been introduced on the tour in 1976 which allowed spike marks to be repaired was rescinded, and a local rule that prohibited touching of the line of a putt with a club was introduced.[3]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1981 season.[5]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[a] Notes
12 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$365,000   Tom Watson (5) Major championship[b]
26 Apr Madrid Open Spain 37,500   Manuel Piñero (5)
3 May Italian Open Italy 45,000   José María Cañizares (4)
10 May Paco Rabanne Open de France France 37,500   Sandy Lyle (5)
17 May Martini International England 65,000   Greg Norman (5)
25 May Sun Alliance PGA Championship England 70,000   Nick Faldo (4)
31 May Dunlop Masters England 75,000   Greg Norman (6)
7 Jun Lawrence Batley International England 60,000   Sandy Lyle (6) New tournament
14 Jun Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open England 40,000   Bernard Gallacher (7)
21 Jun Billy Butlin Jersey Open Jersey 45,000   Tony Jacklin (7)
21 Jun U.S. Open United States US$360,000   David Graham (n/a) Major championship[b]
28 Jun Coral Classic Wales 40,000   Des Smyth (4)
5 Jul Scandinavian Enterprise Open Sweden 50,000   Seve Ballesteros (15)
11 Jul State Express Classic England 65,000   Rodger Davis (1)
19 Jul The Open Championship England 200,000   Bill Rogers (n/a) Major championship
26 Jul KLM Dutch Open Netherlands 40,000   Harold Henning (1)
2 Aug German Open West Germany 40,000   Bernhard Langer (2)
9 Aug PGA Championship United States US$400,000   Larry Nelson (n/a) Major championship[b]
16 Aug Carroll's Irish Open Ireland 80,000   Sam Torrance (3)
23 Aug Benson & Hedges International Open England 90,000   Tom Weiskopf (1)
30 Aug Swiss Open Switzerland 55,000   Manuel Piñero (6)
6 Sep Dixcel Tissues European Open England 105,000   Graham Marsh (8)
13 Sep Haig Whisky TPC Scotland 60,000   Brian Barnes (9)
27 Sep Bob Hope British Classic England 90,000   Bernhard Langer (3) Pro-Am
4 Oct Benson & Hedges Spanish Open Spain 50,000   Seve Ballesteros (16)

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
20 Sep Ryder Cup England n/a   Team USA Team event
11 Oct Suntory World Match Play Championship England 100,000   Seve Ballesteros Limited-field event
18 Oct Trophée Lancôme France 45,000   David Graham
25 Oct Cacharel World Under-25 Championship France n/a   Tim Simpson

Official money list

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

Position Player Prize money (£)
1   Bernhard Langer 81,036
2   Nick Faldo 48,108
3   Sandy Lyle 44,732
4   Greg Norman 44,254
5   Manuel Piñero 39,640
6   Sam Torrance 36,012
7   Seve Ballesteros 35,154
8   Des Smyth 29,105
9   Eamonn Darcy 25,805
10   José María Cañizares 25,529

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year   Jeremy Bennett [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. ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (17 December 1980). "Putting an end to Europe's spiky problem". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, United Kingdom. p. 17. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ^ a b Plumridge, Christopher (17 December 1980). "Putting an end to Europe's spiky problem". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 21. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Chairman's tournament". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 16 December 1980. p. 22. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  5. ^ "1981 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Langer way out in front". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, United Kingdom. 8 October 1981. p. 22. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Williams, Michael (24 November 1981). "Jeremy Bennett named Rookie for Year". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 28. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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