The 1987 European Tour, titled as the 1987 PGA European Tour,[1] was the 16th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

1987 European Tour season
Duration19 March 1987 (1987-03-19) – 1 November 1987 (1987-11-01)
Number of official events27[a]
Most winsWales Ian Woosnam (4)
Order of MeritWales Ian Woosnam
Golfer of the YearWales Ian Woosnam
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearEngland Peter Baker
1986
1988

Changes for 1987

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The season was made up of 27 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and several non-counting "Approved Special Events".[2][3]

There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Moroccan Open[4] and the German Masters,[3] the return of the Volvo Belgian Open and the loss of the Car Care Plan International.

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1987 season.[5]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[b] OWGR
points
Notes
22 Mar Moroccan Open Morocco 175,000   Howard Clark (9) 16 New tournament
12 Apr Jersey Open Jersey 100,000   Ian Woosnam (5) 16
12 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$875,000   Larry Mize (n/a) 100 Major championship[c]
19 Apr Suze Open France 150,000   Seve Ballesteros (34) 22
26 Apr Cepsa Madrid Open Spain 175,000   Ian Woosnam (6) 22
3 May Lancia Italian Open Italy 150,000   Sam Torrance (12) 18
10 May Epson Grand Prix of Europe Matchplay Championship Wales 250,000   Mats Lanner (1) 42 Limited-field event
17 May Peugeot Spanish Open Spain 175,000   Nick Faldo (12) 42
25 May Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship England 225,000   Bernhard Langer (17) 44
31 May London Standard Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity England 150,000   Mark McNulty (4) 16 Pro-Am
7 Jun Dunhill British Masters England 200,000   Mark McNulty (5) 40
13 Jun Peugeot Open de France France 250,000   José Rivero (2) 38
20 Jun Volvo Belgian Open Belgium 150,000   Eamonn Darcy (3) 14
21 Jun U.S. Open United States US$825,000   Scott Simpson (n/a) 100 Major championship[c]
27 Jun Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open France 200,000   Peter Senior (2) 22
5 Jul Carroll's Irish Open Ireland 225,000   Bernhard Langer (18) 44
11 Jul Bell's Scottish Open Scotland 200,000   Ian Woosnam (7) 44
19 Jul The Open Championship Scotland 650,000   Nick Faldo (13) 100 Major championship
26 Jul KLM Dutch Open Netherlands 175,000   Gordon Brand Jnr (5) 40
2 Aug Scandinavian Enterprise Open Sweden 200,000   Gordon Brand Jnr (6) 34
9 Aug PLM Open Sweden 150,000   Howard Clark (10) 16
9 Aug PGA Championship United States US$900,000   Larry Nelson (n/a) 100 Major championship[c]
16 Aug Benson & Hedges International Open England 200,000   Noel Ratcliffe (2) 42
23 Aug Lawrence Batley International England 150,000   Mark O'Meara (n/a) 22
30 Aug German Open West Germany 275,000   Mark McNulty (6) 38
6 Sep Ebel European Masters Swiss Open Switzerland 350,000   Anders Forsbrand (1) 42
13 Sep Panasonic European Open England 225,000   Paul Way (3) 48
20 Sep Trophée Lancôme France 300,000   Ian Woosnam (8) 46 Limited-field event
11 Oct German Masters West Germany 275,000   Sandy Lyle (13) 46 New tournament
25 Oct Barcelona Open Spain Cancelled[d]
1 Nov Portuguese Open Portugal 100,000   Robert Lee (2) 12

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) OWGR
points
Notes
27 Sep Vernons Open England 60,000   David Llewellyn 12
27 Sep Ryder Cup United States n/a   Team Europe n/a Team event
4 Oct Dunhill Cup Scotland US$1,000,000   Team England n/a Team event
13 Oct Equity & Law Challenge England 120,000   Barry Lane n/a New tournament
18 Oct Suntory World Match Play Championship England 275,000   Ian Woosnam 32 Limited-field event
8 Nov Kirin Cup Japan US$950,000   Team USA n/a Team event
Kirin Cup Individual Trophy n/a   Tom Kite n/a
21 Nov World Cup United States US$750,000   David Llewellyn and
  Ian Woosnam
n/a Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy   Ian Woosnam n/a

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was titled as the Epson Order of Merit and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[8]

Position Player Prize money (£)
1   Ian Woosnam 253,717
2   Mark McNulty 189,304
3   Nick Faldo 181,833
4   Gordon Brand Jnr 147,787
5   Bernhard Langer 141,394
6   Seve Ballesteros 138,843
7   Peter Senior 126,091
8   Rodger Davis 122,754
9   Sam Torrance 122,556
10   Howard Clark 122,535

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Golfer of the Year   Ian Woosnam [9]
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year   Peter Baker [10]

Notes

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  1. ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
  4. ^ Tournament initially postponed and then later cancelled due to bad weather rendering the course unplayable.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. ^ Davies, David (28 October 1986). "Money for European Tour raised to £6.5m". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 31. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "German event lifts tour pool to record". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 18 February 1987. p. 38. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  4. ^ "PGA's road to Morocco". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. 16 December 1986. p. 27. Retrieved 27 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1987 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Sport in brief | Golf". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. 15 October 1987. p. 30. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Miller, David (20 October 1987). "Threat to the welfare of golf". The Times. London, United Kingdom. p. 48. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  8. ^ "Final statistics from European and US Tours | Top European earners". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 17 November 1987. p. 40. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Moseley, Ron (15 December 1987). "Ian is Ritz golfer of year". Reading Evening Post. Reading, United Kingdom. p. 18. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Rookie prize pays for tour". Evening Post. Nottingham, United Kingdom. 9 December 1987. p. 18. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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