# 1976 European Tour

The 1976 European Tour, titled as the 1976 PGA Tournament Players' Division, was the fifth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 1976

The season was made up of 21 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non-counting tournaments that later became known as "Approved Special Events". The schedule included the major national opens around Europe, with the other tournaments mostly held in England and Scotland.
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Greater Manchester Open and the Uniroyal International; along with non-counting events the Cacharel World Under-25 Championship and the Lancome Trophy; and the Benson & Hedges Festival being retitled as the Benson & Hedges International Open.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1976 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | Notes |
| 11 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$254,852 | Raymond Floyd (n/a) | Major championship |
| 17 Apr | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 15,000 | Salvador Balbuena (1) | |
| 24 Apr | Spanish Open | Spain | 30,525 | Eddie Polland (3) | |
| 1 May | Madrid Open | Spain | 18,500 | Francisco Abreu (2) | |
| 9 May | French Open | France | 22,200 | Vincent Tshabalala (1) | |
| 15 May | Piccadilly Medal | England | 40,000 | Sam Torrance (1) | |
| 31 May | Penfold PGA Championship | England | 50,000 | Neil Coles (5) | |
| 6 Jun | Kerrygold International Classic | Ireland | 12,500 | Tony Jacklin (5) | |
| 12 Jun | Martini International | England | 15,000 | Sam Torrance (2) | |
| 20 Jun | Greater Manchester Open | England | 12,000 | John O'Leary (1) | New to European Tour |
| 20 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$259,000 | Jerry Pate (n/a) | Major championship |
| 26 Jun | Uniroyal International | England | 25,000 | Tommy Horton (3) | New tournament |
| 10 Jul | The Open Championship | England | 75,000 | Johnny Miller (n/a) | Major championship |
| 18 Jul | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | 38,600 | Hugh Baiocchi (3) | |
| 25 Jul | Swiss Open | Switzerland | 31,300 | Manuel Piñero (2) | |
| 8 Aug | Dutch Open | Netherlands | 26,205 | Seve Ballesteros (1) | |
| 15 Aug | German Open | West Germany | 23,100 | Simon Hobday (1) | |
| 15 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$250,000 | Dave Stockton (n/a) | Major championship |
| 18 Aug | Double Diamond Individual Championship | Scotland | 10,000 | Simon Owen (2) | |
| 29 Aug | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 35,000 | Ben Crenshaw (n/a) | |
| 5 Sep | Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | England | 20,000 | Brian Barnes (4) | |
| 25 Sep | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 40,000 | Graham Marsh (4) | |
| 2 Oct | Dunlop Masters | Wales | 30,000 | Baldovino Dassù (1) | |
| 24 Oct | Italian Open | Italy | 27,000 | Baldovino Dassù (2) | |

### 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 |
| 22 May | Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball | England | 12,000 | Eamonn Darcy and Christy O'Connor Jnr | Team event |
| 5 Jun | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | n/a | Eamonn Darcy | New tournament |
| 3 Jul | Phillip Morris International | France | n/a | Team USA | Team event |
| 21 Aug | Double Diamond International | Scotland | 25,000 | Team England | Team event |
| 18 Sep 17 Jul | T.P.D. Under-25 Championship | England | 5,000 | Howard Clark | |
| 9 Oct | Piccadilly World Match Play Championship | England | 75,000 | David Graham | Limited-field event |
| 17 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | US$40,000 | Seve Ballesteros | New to European Tour |
| 12 Dec | World Cup | United States | US$4,200 | Seve Ballesteros and Manuel Piñero | Team event |
| 12 Dec | World Cup Individual Trophy | United States | US$2,100 | Ernesto Pérez Acosta | |

## Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.
| Position | Player | Points | Prize money (£) |
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros | 21,495 | 39,504 |
| 2 | Eamonn Darcy | 16,741 | 25,027 |
| 3 | Sam Torrance | 16,627 | 20,917 |
| 4 | Manuel Piñero | 16,474 | 19,946 |
| 5 | Tommy Horton | 16,185 | 22,781 |
| 6 | Neil Coles | 15,976 | 20,543 |
| 7 | Martin Foster | 12,669 | 17,436 |
| 8 | Brian Barnes | 12,256 | 23,350 |
| 9 | Baldovino Dassù | 11,961 | 13,405 |
| 10 | Simon Hobday | 11,893 | 15,196 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mark James | |