# 1979 European Tour

The 1979 European Tour, titled as the 1979 PGA European Golf Tour, was the eighth season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 1979

There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Welsh Golf Classic and Lada English Golf Classic. A new team event was also planned for France, replacing the Sumrie Better-Ball, but it was not held.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1979 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | Notes |
| 15 Apr | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 28,810 | Brian Barnes (7) | |
| 15 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$299,625 | Fuzzy Zoeller (n/a) | Major championship |
| 22 Apr | Spanish Open | Spain | 35,000 | Dale Hayes (4) | |
| 29 Apr | Madrid Open | Spain | 33,000 | Simon Hobday (2) | |
| 6 May | Italian Open | Italy | 33,500 | Brian Barnes (8) | |
| 13 May | French Open | France | 33,500 | Bernard Gallacher (5) | |
| 20 May | Colgate PGA Championship | England | 50,000 | Vicente Fernández (2) | |
| 28 May | Martini International | England | 42,000 | Greg Norman (2) | |
| 3 Jun | B.A./Avis Open | Jersey | 30,000 | Sandy Lyle (1) | |
| 10 Jun | Belgian Open | Belgium | 32,300 | Gavan Levenson (1) | |
| 17 Jun | Welsh Golf Classic | Wales | 30,000 | Mark James (2) | New tournament |
| 17 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$325,000 | Hale Irwin (n/a) | Major championship |
| 24 Jun | Greater Manchester Open | England | 30,000 | Mark McNulty (1) | |
| 1 Jul | Lada English Golf Classic | England | 50,000 | Seve Ballesteros (9) | New tournament |
| 8 Jul | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | Sweden | 35,000 | Sandy Lyle (2) | |
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | 155,000 | Seve Ballesteros (10) | Major championship |
| 29 Jul | Dutch Open | Netherlands | 35,000 | Graham Marsh (5) | |
| 5 Aug | Sun Alliance Match Play Championship | Scotland | 40,000 | Des Smyth (1) | |
| 5 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$350,000 | David Graham (n/a) | Major championship |
| 12 Aug | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 60,000 | Maurice Bembridge (6) | |
| 19 Aug | Braun German Open | West Germany | 32,000 | Tony Jacklin (6) | |
| 26 Aug | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 60,000 | Mark James (3) | |
| 2 Sep | Swiss Open | Switzerland | 48,400 | Hugh Baiocchi (5) | |
| 9 Sep | European Open Championship | England | 105,000 | Sandy Lyle (3) | |
| 23 Sep | SOS Talisman TPC | England | 50,000 | Michael King (1) | |
| 6 Oct | Dunlop Masters | Wales | 60,000 | Graham Marsh (6) | |

### 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 |
| 18 Aug | News of the World Under-23 Match Play Championship | England | 10,000 | Ian Woosnam | |
| 16 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | Team USA | Team event |
| 30 Sep | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | France | 20,000 | Bernhard Langer | |
| 14 Oct | Suntory World Match Play Championship | England | 110,000 | Bill Rogers | Limited-field event |
| 28 Oct | Trophée Lancôme | France | 25,000 | Johnny Miller | |
| 11 Nov | World Cup | Greece | n/a | Hale Irwin and John Mahaffey | Team event |
| 11 Nov | World Cup Individual Trophy | Greece | n/a | Hale Irwin | |

## 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 | Sandy Lyle | 39,808 | 49,233 |
| 2 | Seve Ballesteros | 37,026 | 47,411 |
| 3 | Mark James | 32,494 | 38,534 |
| 4 | Dale Hayes | 30,031 | 32,540 |
| 5 | Michael King | 26,283 | 29,725 |
| 6 | Brian Barnes | 26,218 | 28,204 |
| 7 | Ken Brown | 22,991 | 25,407 |
| 8 | Antonio Garrido | 21,825 | 24,665 |
| 9 | Tony Jacklin | 20,505 | 22,179 |
| 10 | Neil Coles | 19,186 | 21,351 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Mike Miller | |