1977 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1977 (1977-01-06) – November 6, 1977 (1977-11-06)
Number of official events45
Most winsUnited States Tom Watson (5)
Money listUnited States Tom Watson
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson
1976
1978

The 1977 PGA Tour was the 62nd season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the ninth season since separating from the PGA of America.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1977 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner(s)[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 9Phoenix OpenArizona200,000United States Jerry Pate (3)
Jan 16Joe Garagiola-Tucson OpenArizona200,000United States Bruce Lietzke (1)
Jan 23Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia200,000United States Tom Watson (4)Pro-Am
Jan 30Andy Williams-San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia180,000United States Tom Watson (5)
Feb 6Hawaiian OpenHawaii240,000United States Bruce Lietzke (2)
Feb 13Bob Hope Desert ClassicCalifornia200,000United States Rik Massengale (3)Pro-Am
Feb 20Glen Campbell-Los Angeles OpenCalifornia200,000United States Tom Purtzer (1)
Feb 27Jackie Gleason-Inverrary ClassicFlorida250,000United States Jack Nicklaus (62)
Mar 7Florida Citrus OpenFlorida200,000United States Gary Koch (2)
Mar 13Doral-Eastern OpenFlorida200,000United States Andy Bean (1)
Mar 20Tournament Players ChampionshipFlorida300,000United States Mark Hayes (3)Special event
Mar 27Heritage ClassicSouth Carolina225,000Australia Graham Marsh (1)Invitational
Apr 3Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina235,000United States Danny Edwards (1)
Apr 10Masters TournamentGeorgia200,000United States Tom Watson (6)Major championship
Apr 10Magnolia ClassicMississippi35,000United States Mike McCullough (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
Apr 17MONY Tournament of ChampionsCalifornia225,000United States Jack Nicklaus (63)Winners-only event
Apr 17Tallahassee OpenFlorida80,000United States Ed Sneed (3)Alternate event
Apr 24First NBC New Orleans OpenLouisiana175,000United States Jim Simons (1)
May 1Houston OpenTexas200,000United States Gene Littler (29)
May 8Byron Nelson Golf ClassicTexas200,000United States Raymond Floyd (9)
May 15Colonial National InvitationTexas200,000United States Ben Crenshaw (5)Invitational
May 15Oklahoma City OpenOklahoma45,000United States Tom Storey (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
May 23Memorial TournamentOhio225,000United States Jack Nicklaus (64)Invitational
May 29Atlanta ClassicGeorgia200,000United States Hale Irwin (8)
Jun 5Kemper OpenNorth Carolina250,000United States Tom Weiskopf (13)
Jun 12Danny Thomas Memphis ClassicTennessee200,000United States Al Geiberger (10)
Jun 19U.S. OpenOklahoma225,000United States Hubert Green (12)Major championship
Jun 26Western OpenIllinois200,000United States Tom Watson (7)
Jul 3Greater Milwaukee OpenWisconsin130,000United States Dave Eichelberger (2)
Jul 9The Open ChampionshipScotland£100,000United States Tom Watson (8)Major championship[lower-alpha 3]
Jul 10Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities OpenIllinois125,000United States Mike Morley (1)Alternate event
Jul 17Pleasant Valley ClassicMassachusetts250,000United States Raymond Floyd (10)
Jul 24Canadian OpenCanada225,000United States Lee Trevino (22)
Jul 31IVB-Philadelphia Golf ClassicPennsylvania200,000United States Jerry McGee (2)
Aug 7Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford OpenConnecticut210,000United States Billy Kratzert (2)
Aug 14PGA ChampionshipCalifornia250,000United States Lanny Wadkins (4)Major championship
Aug 21American Express Westchester ClassicNew York300,000United States Andy North (1)
Aug 28Colgate Hall of Fame Golf ClassicNorth Carolina250,000United States Hale Irwin (9)
Sep 4Buick OpenMichigan100,000South Africa Bobby Cole (1)Alternate event
Sep 5World Series of GolfOhio400,000United States Lanny Wadkins (5)Limited-field event
Sep 11B.C. OpenNew York200,000United States Gil Morgan (1)
Sep 25Ohio Kings Island OpenOhio150,000United States Mike Hill (3)
Oct 2Anheuser-Busch Golf ClassicCalifornia200,000United States Miller Barber (10)
Oct 16San Antonio Texas OpenTexas150,000United States Hale Irwin (10)
Oct 23Southern OpenGeorgia125,000United States Jerry Pate (4)
Oct 30Pensacola OpenFlorida125,000United States Leonard Thompson (2)
Nov 6Walt Disney World National Team ChampionshipFlorida200,000United States Gibby Gilbert (3) and
United States Grier Jones (3)
Team event

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) Notes
Sep 17 Ryder Cup England n/a Team USA Team event
Dec 11 World Cup Philippines 4,200 Spain Seve Ballesteros and
Spain Antonio Garrido
Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy 2,100 South Africa Gary Player

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2][3]

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1United States Tom Watson310,653
2United States Jack Nicklaus284,509
3United States Lanny Wadkins244,882
4United States Hale Irwin221,456
5United States Bruce Lietzke202,156
6United States Tom Weiskopf197,369
7United States Raymond Floyd163,261
8United States Miller Barber148,320
9United States Hubert Green140,255
10United States Billy Kratzert134,758

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson[4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)United States Tom Watson[5]

Notes

  1. The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. 1 2 Official money; unofficial win.
  3. Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

  1. "1978 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  2. "The Top money-winners in 1977:". Progress Bulletin. Pomona, California. November 13, 1977. p. 51 (52 in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Watson's $310,653 third best on all-time PGA money list". Valley News. Van Nuys, California. November 2, 1977. p. 28 (2 in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Watson Named Player of Year". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. November 24, 1977. p. 102. Retrieved November 7, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Another trophy for Watson". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, United Kingdom. December 7, 1977. p. 30. Retrieved November 7, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
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