The 1997 Senior PGA Tour was the 18th season of the Senior PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States for men aged 50 and over.

1997 Senior PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 17, 1997 (1997-01-17) – November 9, 1997 (1997-11-09)
Number of official events39
Most winsUnited States Hale Irwin (9)
Money listUnited States Hale Irwin
Player of the YearUnited States Hale Irwin
Rookie of the YearUnited States Gil Morgan
1996
1998

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1997 season.[1][2]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner[a] Notes
Jan 19 MasterCard Championship Hawaii 1,000,000   Hale Irwin (5)
Feb 2 Royal Caribbean Classic Florida 850,000   Gibby Gilbert (6)
Feb 9 LG Championship Florida 1,000,000   Hale Irwin (6)
Feb 16 GTE Classic Florida 900,000   David Graham (1)
Feb 23 American Express Invitational Florida 1,200,000   Buddy Allin (1)
Mar 16 Toshiba Senior Classic California 1,000,000   Bob Murphy (11)
Mar 30 Southwestern Bell Dominion Texas 800,000   David Graham (2)
Apr 6 The Tradition Arizona 1,200,000   Gil Morgan (2) Senior PGA Tour major championship
Apr 20 PGA Seniors' Championship Florida 1,200,000   Hale Irwin (7) Senior major championship
Apr 27 Las Vegas Senior Classic Nevada 1,000,000   Hale Irwin (8)
May 4 Bruno's Memorial Classic Alabama 1,150,000   Jay Sigel (3)
May 11 Home Depot Invitational North Carolina 900,000   Jim Dent (11)
May 18 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic New Jersey 950,000   Bruce Crampton (20)
May 25 Bell Atlantic Classic Pennsylvania 1,000,000   Bob Eastwood (1)
Jun 1 Ameritech Senior Open Illinois 1,200,000   Gil Morgan (3)
Jun 8 BellSouth Senior Classic Tennessee 1,300,000   Gil Morgan (4)
Jun 15 du Maurier Champions Canada 1,100,000   Jack Kiefer (2)
Jun 22 Nationwide Championship Georgia 1,300,000   Graham Marsh (4)
Jun 29 U.S. Senior Open Illinois 1,300,000   Graham Marsh (5) Senior major championship
Jul 6 Kroger Senior Classic Ohio 1,000,000   Jay Sigel (4)
Jul 13 Ford Senior Players Championship Michigan 1,800,000   Larry Gilbert (3) Senior PGA Tour major championship
Jul 20 Burnet Senior Classic Minnesota 1,350,000   Hale Irwin (9)
Jul 27 Senior British Open Northern Ireland £350,000   Gary Player (21) Senior major championship[b]
Jul 27 Franklin Quest Championship Utah 1,000,000   Dave Stockton (14)
Aug 3 BankBoston Classic Massachusetts 1,000,000   Hale Irwin (10)
Aug 10 Northville Long Island Classic New York 1,000,000   Dana Quigley (1)
Aug 17 First of America Classic Michigan 1,000,000   Gil Morgan (5)
Aug 24 Saint Luke's Classic Missouri 1,000,000   Bruce Summerhays (1)
Aug 31 Pittsburgh Senior Classic Pennsylvania 1,100,000   Hugh Baiocchi (1)
Sep 7 Bank One Classic Kentucky 800,000   Vicente Fernández (2)
Sep 14 Boone Valley Classic Missouri 1,300,000   Hale Irwin (11)
Sep 21 Comfort Classic Indiana 1,050,000   David Graham (3)
Sep 28 Emerald Coast Classic Florida 1,100,000   Isao Aoki (7)
Oct 5 Vantage Championship North Carolina 1,500,000   Hale Irwin (12)
Oct 12 The Transamerica California 800,000   Dave Eichelberger (3)
Oct 19 Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic Hawaii 850,000   Hale Irwin (13)
Oct 26 Raley's Gold Rush Classic California 900,000   Bob Eastwood (2)
Nov 2 Ralphs Senior Classic California 1,000,000   Gil Morgan (6)
Nov 9 Energizer Senior Tour Championship South Carolina 1,850,000   Gil Morgan (7) Tour Championship

Unofficial events

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

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winners Notes
Dec 7 Office Depot Father/Son Challenge Florida 860,000   Raymond Floyd and
son Raymond Floyd Jr.
Team event

Money list

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The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Hale Irwin 2,343,364
2   Gil Morgan 2,160,562
3   Isao Aoki 1,410,499
4   Jay Sigel 1,294,838
5   David Graham 1,173,579

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy)   Hale Irwin [4]
Rookie of the Year   Gil Morgan [5]
Scoring leader (Byron Nelson Award)   Hale Irwin [6]
Comeback Player of the Year   George Archer [5]

Notes

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

References

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  1. ^ "1998 Senior PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "2004 Champions Tour Media Guide | Tournament Chronology" (PDF). PGA Tour. pp. 219–233 (5-21–5-35 in document). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "1997 Money list". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "No contest". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. December 10, 1997. p. 31 (C5 in paper). Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Other awards". North County Times. Oceanside, California. January 11, 1998. p. 36 (C-10 in paper). Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "1997 Scoring average". PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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