# 1997 European Tour

The 1997 European Tour, titled as the 1997 PGA European Tour, was the 26th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 1997

There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the South African Open, which replaced the FNB Players Championship, and the loss of the Catalan Open, the Austrian Open and the Scottish Open, which was effectively superseded by the Loch Lomond World Invitational.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1997 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 26 Jan | Johnnie Walker Classic | Australia | 700,000 | Ernie Els (4) | 44 | ANZ | |
| 2 Feb | Heineken Classic | Australia | A$1,100,000 | Miguel Ángel Martín (2) | 40 | ANZ | |
| 9 Feb | South African Open | South Africa | 500,000 | Vijay Singh (7) | 34 | AFR | New to European Tour |
| 16 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | South Africa | 400,000 | Nick Price (6) | 26 | AFR | Pro-Am |
| 23 Feb | Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship | South Africa | 300,000 | Nick Price (7) | 24 | AFR | |
| 2 Mar | Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$1,200,000 | Richard Green (1) | 40 | | |
| 9 Mar | Moroccan Open | Morocco | 350,000 | Clinton Whitelaw (1) | 20 | | |
| 16 Mar | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 350,000 | Michael Jonzon (1) | 20 | | |
| 23 Mar | Turespaña Masters Open de Canarias | Spain | 375,000 | José María Olazábal (17) | 20 | | |
| 30 Mar | Madeira Island Open | Portugal | 300,000 | Peter Mitchell (2) | 20 | | |
| 13 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$2,700,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 20 Apr | Europe 1 Cannes Open | France | 300,000 | Stuart Cage (1) | 20 | | |
| 27 Apr | Peugeot Open de España | Spain | 500,000 | Mark James (18) | 38 | | |
| 4 May | Conte of Florence Italian Open | Italy | 450,000 | Bernhard Langer (36) | 28 | | |
| 11 May | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 700,000 | Bernhard Langer (37) | 36 | | |
| 18 May | Alamo English Open | England | 650,000 | Per-Ulrik Johansson (4) | 34 | | |
| 26 May | Volvo PGA Championship | England | 1,100,000 | Ian Woosnam (29) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 1 Jun | Deutsche Bank Open TPC of Europe | Germany | 750,000 | Ross McFarlane (1) | 26 | | |
| 8 Jun | Compaq European Grand Prix | England | 650,000 | Colin Montgomerie (13) | 26 | | |
| 15 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$2,600,000 | Ernie Els (5) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 22 Jun | Volvo German Open | Germany | 700,000 | Ignacio Garrido (1) | 24 | | |
| 29 Jun | Peugeot Open de France | France | 600,000 | Retief Goosen (2) | 34 | | |
| 6 Jul | Murphy's Irish Open | Ireland | 675,000 | Colin Montgomerie (14) | 38 | | |
| 12 Jul | Gulfstream Loch Lomond World Invitational | Scotland | 800,000 | Tom Lehman (n/a) | 50 | | |
| 20 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | 1,600,000 | Justin Leonard (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 27 Jul | Sun Microsystems Dutch Open | Netherlands | 700,000 | Sven Strüver (2) | 20 | | |
| 3 Aug | Volvo Scandinavian Masters | Sweden | 750,000 | Joakim Haeggman (2) | 34 | | |
| 10 Aug | Chemapol Trophy Czech Open | Czech Republic | 800,000 | Bernhard Langer (38) | 24 | | |
| 17 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$2,600,000 | Davis Love III (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 24 Aug | Smurfit European Open | Ireland | 850,000 | Per-Ulrik Johansson (5) | 32 | | |
| 31 Aug | BMW International Open | Germany | 750,000 | Robert Karlsson (2) | 36 | | |
| 7 Sep | Canon European Masters | Switzerland | 800,000 | Costantino Rocca (4) | 32 | | |
| 14 Sep | Trophée Lancôme | France | 700,000 | Mark O'Meara (n/a) | 42 | | |
| 21 Sep | One 2 One British Masters | England | 750,000 | Greg Turner (4) | 30 | | |
| 5 Oct | Linde German Masters | Germany | 750,000 | Bernhard Langer (39) | 38 | | |
| 26 Oct | Oki Pro-Am | Spain | 450,000 | Paul McGinley (2) | 20 | | |
| 2 Nov | Volvo Masters | Spain | 1,000,000 | Lee Westwood (2) | 28 | | Tour Championship |

### 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) | OWGR points | Notes |
| 28 Sep | Ryder Cup | Spain | n/a | Team Europe | n/a | Team event |
| 12 Oct | Toyota World Match Play Championship | England | 650,000 | Vijay Singh | 42 | Limited-field event |
| 12 Oct | Open Novotel Perrier | France | n/a | Anders Forsbrand and Michael Jonzon | n/a | Team event |
| 19 Oct | Dunhill Cup | Scotland | 1,000,000 | Team South Africa | n/a | Team event |
| 9 Nov | Subaru Sarazen World Open | United States | US$2,000,000 | Mark Calcavecchia | 40 | |
| 23 Nov | World Cup of Golf | United States | US$1,300,000 | Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley | n/a | Team event |
| 23 Nov | World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy | United States | US$200,000 | Colin Montgomerie | n/a | |
| 4 Jan | Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf | United States | US$3,650,000 | Colin Montgomerie | 58 | Limited-field event |

## Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was titled as the Volvo Order of Merit and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
| 1 | Colin Montgomerie | 798,947 |
| 2 | Bernhard Langer | 692,398 |
| 3 | Lee Westwood | 588,718 |
| 4 | Darren Clarke | 537,409 |
| 5 | Ian Woosnam | 503,562 |
| 6 | Ignacio Garrido | 411,479 |
| 7 | Retief Goosen | 394,597 |
| 8 | Pádraig Harrington | 388,982 |
| 9 | José María Olazábal | 385,648 |
| 10 | Robert Karlsson | 364,542 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Golfer of the Year | Colin Montgomerie | |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Scott Henderson | |