The 1973 European Tour, titled as the 1973 PGA European Tour,[1] was the second season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1973 European Tour season
Duration28 March 1973 (1973-03-28) – 6 October 1973 (1973-10-06)
Number of official events21
Most winsEngland Peter Oosterhuis (3)
Order of MeritEngland Peter Oosterhuis
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Pip Elson
1972
1974

Changes for 1973

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There were three changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Portuguese Open and the Scandinavian Enterprise Open and the loss of the John Player Trophy.[2]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1973 season.[3][4][5]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[a] Notes
31 Mar Madrid Open Spain 15,000   Germán Garrido (1)
7 Apr Portuguese Open Portugal 15,000   Jaime Benito (1) New to European Tour
9 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$224,825   Tommy Aaron (n/a) Major championship[b]
14 Apr Spanish Open Spain 25,000   Neil Coles (2)
21 Apr Italian Open Italy 25,750   Tony Jacklin (2)
28 Apr Piccadilly Medal England 12,000   Peter Oosterhuis (2)
12 May Penfold-Bournemouth Tournament England 8,000   Eddie Polland (1)
26 May Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship England 20,000   Neil Coles (3)
3 Jun French Open France 15,000   Peter Oosterhuis (3)
9 Jun Martini International Scotland 10,000   Maurice Bembridge (1)
17 Jun U.S. Open United States US$227,200   Johnny Miller (n/a) Major championship[b]
24 Jun Carroll's International Ireland 15,000   Paddy McGuirk (1)
30 Jun Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open Scotland 15,000   Graham Marsh (3)
14 Jul The Open Championship Scotland 50,000   Tom Weiskopf (n/a) Major championship
22 Jul Scandinavian Enterprise Open Sweden 19,410   Bob Charles (3) New tournament
29 Jul Swiss Open Switzerland 17,850   Hugh Baiocchi (1)
5 Aug German Open West Germany 17,210   Francisco Abreu (1)
12 Aug Dutch Open Netherlands 18,700   Doug McClelland (1)
12 Aug PGA Championship United States US$225,000   Jack Nicklaus (n/a) Major championship[b]
18 Aug Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf England 15,000   Vin Baker (1)
25 Aug Viyella PGA Championship England 15,000   Peter Oosterhuis (4)
8 Sep W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament England 15,000   Charles Coody (n/a)
29 Sep John Player Classic Scotland 58,000   Charles Coody (n/a)
6 Oct Dunlop Masters Wales 15,000   Tony Jacklin (3)

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
19 May Sumrie Better-Ball Scotland 8,000   Neil Coles and
  Bernard Hunt
Team event
16 Jun Coca-Cola Young Professionals' Championship England 4,000   Bernard Gallacher
20 Jul Lord Derby's Under-25 Match Play Championship England 2,500   Brian Thompson
1 Sep Double Diamond International England 15,000   Team Scotland Team event
22 Sep Ryder Cup Scotland n/a   Team USA Team event
13 Oct Piccadilly World Match Play Championship England 30,000   Gary Player Limited-field event
25 Nov World Cup Spain US$4,200   Johnny Miller and
  Jack Nicklaus
Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy US$2,100   Johnny Miller

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[4][6][7]

Position Player Points Prize money (£)
1   Peter Oosterhuis 3,440 17,455
2   Maurice Bembridge 2,980 10,773
3   Hugh Baiocchi 2,904 11,870
4   Dale Hayes 2,736 10,188
5   Brian Barnes 2,676 9,778
6   Eddie Polland 2,635 8,146
7   Tony Jacklin 2,588 24,840
8   Bernard Gallacher 2,561 8,676
9   Neil Coles 2,437 14,748
10   Jack Newton 2,399 7,939

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year   Pip Elson [8]

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. ^ Rodney, Bob (26 January 1973). "Top two for Player Classic". Daily Mirror. London, United Kingdom. p. 27. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "1973 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Simms, George (1974). John Player Golf Yearbook 1974. Queen Anne Press. pp. 82–136. ISBN 0362001758.
  5. ^ "£½m. to be won on PGA circuit". Glasgow Herald. 19 January 1973. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ "Oosty ahead of Bembridge". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 13 October 1973. p. 21. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Brittiska Cirkusen | Order of Merit" [British Tour | Order of Merit]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 8. December 1973. p. 48. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Cotton's guidance wins 'rookie' title for Elson". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 5 October 1973. p. 15. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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