# 1987 European Tour

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

## Changes for 1987

The season was made up of 27 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and several non-counting "Approved Special Events".
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Moroccan Open and the German Masters, the return of the Volvo Belgian Open and the loss of the Car Care Plan International.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1987 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | – | |
| 1 Nov | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 100,000 | Robert Lee (2) | 12 | |

### 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 |
| 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 |
| 8 Nov | Kirin Cup Individual Trophy | Japan | n/a | Tom Kite | n/a | |
| 21 Nov | World Cup | United States | US$750,000 | David Llewellyn and Ian Woosnam | n/a | Team event |
| 21 Nov | World Cup Individual Trophy | United States | US$750,000 | Ian Woosnam | n/a | |

## 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 | 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

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Golfer of the Year | Ian Woosnam | |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Peter Baker | |