# 1985 European Tour

The 1985 European Tour, titled as the 1985 PGA European Tour, was the 14th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 1985

The season was made up of 26 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and some non-counting "Approved Special Events".
There were several changes from the previous season, with the GSI L'Equipe Open replacing the Timex Open; the return of the British Masters and the Bob Hope Classic, which was rebranded as the Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity; and the loss of the Tournament Players Championship and the Celtic International.
In addition, the Dunhill Cup, a new team event devised by Mark McCormack and held over the Old Course at St Andrews, was added to the schedule but did not count towards the Order of Merit; with a prize fund of US$1,200,000 it was the richest tournament in the world, surpassing the Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge in South Africa.

### Rule changes

In 1985, the European Tour became "All-Exempt", meaning that for the first time tournaments did not have their own pre-qualifying rounds. The final two rounds of all major tournaments were played as two-balls, having previously been three-balls.

### Order of Merit name change

In April, it was announced that Epson would take over the title sponsorship of the Order of Merit from Sperry Corporation, being renamed as the Epson Order of Merit.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1985 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | Notes |
| 14 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$700,000 | Bernhard Langer (12) | Major championship |
| 21 Apr | Tunisian Open | Tunisia | 70,000 | Stephen Bennett (1) | |
| 28 Apr | Cepsa Madrid Open | Spain | 100,000 | Manuel Piñero (8) | |
| 5 May | Italian Open | Italy | 85,000 | Manuel Piñero (9) | |
| 12 May | Car Care Plan International | England | 110,000 | David J. Russell (1) | |
| 19 May | GSI L'Equipe Open | France | 75,000 | Mark James (7) | New tournament |
| 27 May | Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship | England | 180,000 | Paul Way (2) | |
| 2 Jun | Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity | England | 140,000 | Ken Brown (4) | Pro-Am |
| 10 Jun | Dunhill British Masters | England | 200,000 | Lee Trevino (n/a) | |
| 16 Jun | Jersey Open | Jersey | 75,000 | Howard Clark (5) | |
| 16 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$650,000 | Andy North (n/a) | Major championship |
| 23 Jun | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 120,000 | Seve Ballesteros (24) | |
| 30 Jun | Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open | France | 125,000 | Sam Torrance (11) | |
| 7 Jul | Peugeot Open de France | France | 80,000 | Seve Ballesteros (25) | |
| 13 Jul | Lawrence Batley International Golf Classic | England | 120,000 | Graham Marsh (9) | |
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | England | 530,000 | Sandy Lyle (11) | Major championship |
| 28 Jul | KLM Dutch Open | Netherlands | 120,000 | Graham Marsh (10) | |
| 4 Aug | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | 130,000 | Ian Baker-Finch (1) | |
| 11 Aug | Glasgow Open | Scotland | 90,000 | Howard Clark (6) | |
| 11 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$700,000 | Hubert Green (n/a) | Major championship |
| 18 Aug | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 150,000 | Sandy Lyle (12) | |
| 25 Aug | Lufthansa German Open | West Germany | 100,000 | Bernhard Langer (13) | |
| 1 Sep | Panasonic European Open | England | 200,000 | Bernhard Langer (14) | |
| 8 Sep | Ebel European Masters Swiss Open | Switzerland | 190,000 | Craig Stadler (n/a) | |
| 22 Sep | Sanyo Open | Spain | 120,000 | Seve Ballesteros (26) | |
| 6 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 120,000 | Nick Price (2) | Limited-field event |
| 13 Oct | Compagnie de Chauffe Cannes Open | France | 80,000 | Robert Lee (1) | |
| 27 Oct | Benson & Hedges Spanish Open | Spain | 85,000 | Seve Ballesteros (27) | |
| 2 Nov | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 65,000 | Warren Humphreys (1) | |

### 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 |
| 15 Sep | Ryder Cup | England | n/a | Team Europe | Team event |
| 29 Sep | Suntory World Match Play Championship | England | 180,000 | Seve Ballesteros | Limited-field event |
| 20 Oct | Dunhill Cup | Scotland | US$1,200,000 | Team Australia | New tournament Team event |
| 24 Nov | World Cup | United States | US$743,000 | Dave Barr and Dan Halldorson | Team event |
| 24 Nov | World Cup Individual Trophy | United States | US$743,000 | Howard Clark | |

## Order of Merit

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.
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
| 1 | Sandy Lyle | 162,553 |
| 2 | Bernhard Langer | 115,716 |
| 3 | Seve Ballesteros | 103,042 |
| 4 | Ian Woosnam | 82,235 |
| 5 | Sam Torrance | 79,567 |
| 6 | Howard Clark | 79,386 |
| 7 | Manuel Piñero | 71,116 |
| 8 | José María Cañizares | 65,633 |
| 9 | Gordon Brand Jnr | 65,571 |
| 10 | Paul Way | 63,097 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Golfer of the Year | Bernhard Langer | |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Paul Thomas | |