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Golf tour season
1979 PGA Tour season Duration January 11, 1979 (1979-01-11 ) – October 28, 1979 (1979-10-28 ) Number of official events 44 Most wins Tom Watson (5)Money list Tom Watson PGA Player of the Year Tom Watson
The 1979 PGA Tour was the 64th season of the PGA Tour , the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 11th season since separating from the PGA of America .
The following table lists official events during the 1979 season.[ 1]
Date
Tournament
Location
Purse (US$ )
Winner(s)[ a]
Notes
Jan 14
Bob Hope Desert Classic
California
300,000
John Mahaffey (4)
Pro-Am
Jan 22
Phoenix Open
Arizona
250,000
Ben Crenshaw (6)
Jan 28
Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational
California
250,000
Fuzzy Zoeller (1)
Feb 4
Bing Crosby National Pro-Am
California
300,000
Lon Hinkle (2)
Pro-Am
Feb 11
Hawaiian Open
Hawaii
300,000
Hubert Green (15)
Feb 18
Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open
Arizona
250,000
Bruce Lietzke (4)
Feb 25
Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open
California
250,000
Lanny Wadkins (6)
Mar 4
Bay Hill Citrus Classic
Florida
250,000
Bob Byman (1)
Mar 11
Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic
Florida
300,000
Larry Nelson (1)
Mar 18
Doral-Eastern Open
Florida
250,000
Mark McCumber (1)
Mar 25
Tournament Players Championship
Florida
440,000
Lanny Wadkins (7)
Special event
Apr 1
Sea Pines Heritage Classic
South Carolina
300,000
Tom Watson (14)
Invitational
Apr 8
Greater Greensboro Open
North Carolina
250,000
Raymond Floyd (11)
Apr 15
Masters Tournament
Georgia
299,625
Fuzzy Zoeller (2)
Major championship
Apr 15
Magnolia Classic
Mississippi
50,000
Bobby Walzel (n/a)
Second Tour[ b]
Apr 22
MONY Tournament of Champions
California
300,000
Tom Watson (15)
Winners-only event
Apr 22
Tallahassee Open
Florida
100,000
Chi-Chi Rodríguez (8)
Alternate event
Apr 29
First NBC New Orleans Open
Louisiana
250,000
Hubert Green (16)
May 6
Houston Open
Texas
300,000
Wayne Levi (2)
May 13
Byron Nelson Golf Classic
Texas
300,000
Tom Watson (16)
May 20
Colonial National Invitation
Texas
300,000
Al Geiberger (11)
Invitational
May 27
Memorial Tournament
Ohio
300,000
Tom Watson (17)
Invitational
Jun 3
Kemper Open
North Carolina
350,000
Jerry McGee (3)
Jun 10
Atlanta Classic
Georgia
300,000
Andy Bean (5)
Jun 17
U.S. Open
Ohio
325,000
Hale Irwin (11)
Major championship
Jun 24
Canadian Open
Canada
350,000
Lee Trevino (24)
Jul 1
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
Tennessee
300,000
Gil Morgan (4)
Jul 8
Western Open
Illinois
300,000
Larry Nelson (2)
Jul 15
Greater Milwaukee Open
Wisconsin
200,000
Calvin Peete (1)
Jul 21
The Open Championship
England
£155,000
Seve Ballesteros (2)
Major championship [ c]
Jul 22
Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open
Illinois
200,000
D. A. Weibring (1)
Alternate event
Jul 29
IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic
Pennsylvania
250,000
Lou Graham (4)
Aug 5
PGA Championship
Michigan
350,000
David Graham (4)
Major championship
Aug 12
Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open
Connecticut
300,000
Jerry McGee (4)
Aug 19
Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic
New York
400,000
Jack Renner (1)
Aug 26
Colgate Hall of Fame Classic
North Carolina
250,000
Tom Watson (18)
Sep 2
B.C. Open
New York
275,000
Howard Twitty (1)
Sep 9
American Optical Classic
Massachusetts
250,000
Lou Graham (5)
Sep 16
Buick-Goodwrench Open
Michigan
150,000
John Fought (1)
Sep 23
Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
California
300,000
John Fought (2)
Sep 30
World Series of Golf
Ohio
400,000
Lon Hinkle (3)
Limited-field event
Oct 7
San Antonio Texas Open
Texas
250,000
Lou Graham (6)
Oct 14
Southern Open
Georgia
200,000
Ed Fiori (1)
Oct 21
Pensacola Open
Florida
200,000
Curtis Strange (1)
Oct 28
Walt Disney World National Team Championship
Florida
250,000
George Burns (1) and Ben Crenshaw (7)
Team event
The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[ 2] [ 3]
Position
Player
Prize money ($)
1
Tom Watson
462,636
2
Larry Nelson
281,022
3
Lon Hinkle
247,693
4
Lee Trevino
238,732
5
Ben Crenshaw
236,770
6
Bill Rogers
230,500
7
Andy Bean
208,253
8
Bruce Lietzke
198,439
9
Fuzzy Zoeller
196,951
10
Lanny Wadkins
195,710
^ 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.
^ Official money; unofficial win.
^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
^ "1980 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF) . PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023 .
^ "Money leaders" . Daily News . New York, New York. November 25, 1979. p. 484. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Shriver, Jerry (October 14, 1979). "Watson Holds Off The Young Lions" . Pensacola News Journal . Pensacola, Florida. p. 173. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tom Watson named PGA player of year" . Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. November 8, 1979. p. 75. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Greenberg, Don (November 1, 1979). "Watson Likes to Keep Things Elementary" . The Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 71. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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