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1978 PGA Tour

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1978 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 5, 1978 (1978-01-05) – November 5, 1978 (1978-11-05)
Number of official events44
Most winsUnited States Tom Watson (5)
Money listUnited States Tom Watson
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson
1977
1979

The 1978 PGA Tour was the 63rd season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 10th season since separating from the PGA of America.

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1978 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 8 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open Arizona 200,000 United States Tom Watson (9)
Jan 15 Phoenix Open Arizona 225,000 United States Miller Barber (11)
Jan 23 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 225,000 United States Tom Watson (10) Pro-Am
Jan 29 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational California 200,000 United States Jay Haas (1)
Feb 5 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 250,000 United States Hubert Green (13)
Feb 13 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 225,000 United States Bill Rogers (1) Pro-Am
Feb 19 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open California 200,000 United States Gil Morgan (2)
Feb 26 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic Florida 250,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (65)
Mar 6 Florida Citrus Open Florida 200,000 United States Mac McLendon (3)
Mar 12 Doral-Eastern Open Florida 200,000 United States Tom Weiskopf (14)
Mar 19 Tournament Players Championship Florida 300,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (66) Special event
Mar 26 Heritage Classic South Carolina 225,000 United States Hubert Green (14) Invitational
Apr 2 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 240,000 Spain Seve Ballesteros (1)
Apr 9 Masters Tournament Georgia 262,402 South Africa Gary Player (22) Major championship
Apr 9 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 35,000 United States Craig Stadler (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Apr 16 MONY Tournament of Champions California 225,000 South Africa Gary Player (23) Winners-only event
Apr 16 Tallahassee Open Florida 80,000 United States Barry Jaeckel (1) Alternate event
Apr 23 Houston Open Texas 200,000 South Africa Gary Player (24)
Apr 30 First NBC New Orleans Open Louisiana 200,000 United States Lon Hinkle (1)
May 7 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 200,000 United States Tom Watson (11)
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas 200,000 United States Lee Trevino (23) Invitational
May 14 Oklahoma City Open Oklahoma 45,000 United States Jeff Hewes (n/a) Second Tour[b]
May 21 Memorial Tournament Ohio 250,000 United States Jim Simons (2) Invitational
May 28 Atlanta Classic Georgia 200,000 United States Jerry Heard (5)
Jun 4 Kemper Open North Carolina 300,000 United States Andy Bean (2)
Jun 11 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 250,000 United States Andy Bean (3)
Jun 18 U.S. Open Colorado 310,200 United States Andy North (2) Major championship
Jun 18 Buick-Goodwrench Open Michigan 100,000 Australia Jack Newton (1) Alternate event
Jun 25 Canadian Open Canada 250,000 United States Bruce Lietzke (3)
Jul 2 Western Open Illinois 225,000 United States Andy Bean (4)
Jul 9 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 150,000 United States Lee Elder (3)
Jul 15 The Open Championship Scotland £125,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (67) Major championship[c]
Jul 16 Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open Illinois 150,000 Mexico Victor Regalado (2) Alternate event
Jul 23 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 250,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (68)
Jul 30 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open Connecticut 210,000 United States Rod Funseth (3)
Aug 6 PGA Championship Pennsylvania 300,000 United States John Mahaffey (2) Major championship
Aug 13 American Optical Classic Massachusetts 225,000 United States John Mahaffey (3)
Aug 20 American Express Westchester Classic New York 300,000 United States Lee Elder (4)
Aug 27 Colgate Hall of Fame Classic North Carolina 250,000 United States Tom Watson (12)
Sep 4 B.C. Open New York 225,000 United States Tom Kite (2)
Sep 10 Southern Open Georgia 175,000 United States Jerry Pate (5)
Sep 17 San Antonio Texas Open Texas 200,000 United States Ron Streck (1)
Sep 24 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic California 200,000 United States Tom Watson (13)
Oct 1 World Series of Golf Ohio 400,000 United States Gil Morgan (3) Limited-field event
Oct 29 Pensacola Open Florida 125,000 United States Mac McLendon (4)
Nov 5 Walt Disney World National Team Championship Florida 200,000 United States Wayne Levi (1) and
United States Bob Mann (1)
Team event

Unofficial events

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The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) Notes
Dec 3 World Cup Hawaii n/a United States John Mahaffey and
United States Andy North
Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy United States John Mahaffey

Money list

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The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 United States Tom Watson 362,429
2 United States Gil Morgan 267,459
3 United States Andy Bean 267,241
4 United States Jack Nicklaus 256,672
5 United States Hubert Green 247,406
6 United States Lee Trevino 228,723
7 United States Hale Irwin 191,666
8 United States Billy Kratzert 183,681
9 South Africa Gary Player 177,336
10 United States Jerry Pate 171,999

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year United States Tom Watson [3]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) United States Tom Watson [3]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ a b Official money; unofficial win.
  3. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

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  1. ^ "1979 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Final 1978 PGA Money Winners". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. November 5, 1978. p. 51 (7-E in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Watson Named PGA Player of Year". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. November 13, 1978. p. 14 (B-6 in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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