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.
| Duration | 23 April 1981 – 4 October 1981 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 22 |
| Most wins |  Seve Ballesteros (2) Bernhard Langer (2) Sandy Lyle (2) Greg Norman (2) Manuel Piñero (2) |
| Official money list | Bernhard Langer |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Jeremy Bennett |
← 1980 1982 → | |
Changes for 1981
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
The local rule that had been introduced on the tour in 1976 which allowed spike marks to be repaired was rescinded, and a local rule that prohibited touching of the line of a putt with a club was introduced.[3]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
The following table lists official events during the 1981 season.[5]
Unofficial events
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
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
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Jeremy Bennett |
[7] |
Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
- ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Chairman's tournament". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 16 December 1980. p. 22. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- ^ "1981 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Langer way out in front". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, United Kingdom. 8 October 1981. p. 22. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 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.