1978 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 5, 1978 (1978-01-05) – November 5, 1978 (1978-11-05)
Number of official events44
Most winsUnited States Tom Watson (5)
Money listUnited States Tom Watson
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson
← 1977
1979 →

The 1978 PGA Tour was the 63rd season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 10th season since separating from the PGA of America.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1978 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)		 Winner(s)[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 8Joe Garagiola-Tucson OpenArizona200,000United States Tom Watson (9)
Jan 15Phoenix OpenArizona225,000United States Miller Barber (11)
Jan 23Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia225,000United States Tom Watson (10)Pro-Am
Jan 29Andy Williams-San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia200,000United States Jay Haas (1)
Feb 5Hawaiian OpenHawaii250,000United States Hubert Green (13)
Feb 13Bob Hope Desert ClassicCalifornia225,000United States Bill Rogers (1)Pro-Am
Feb 19Glen Campbell-Los Angeles OpenCalifornia200,000United States Gil Morgan (2)
Feb 26Jackie Gleason-Inverrary ClassicFlorida250,000United States Jack Nicklaus (65)
Mar 6Florida Citrus OpenFlorida200,000United States Mac McLendon (3)
Mar 12Doral-Eastern OpenFlorida200,000United States Tom Weiskopf (14)
Mar 19Tournament Players ChampionshipFlorida300,000United States Jack Nicklaus (66)Special event
Mar 26Heritage ClassicSouth Carolina225,000United States Hubert Green (14)Invitational
Apr 2Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina240,000Spain Seve Ballesteros (1)
Apr 9Masters TournamentGeorgia225,000South Africa Gary Player (22)Major championship
Apr 9Magnolia ClassicMississippi35,000United States Craig Stadler (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
Apr 16MONY Tournament of ChampionsCalifornia225,000South Africa Gary Player (23)Winners-only event
Apr 16Tallahassee OpenFlorida80,000United States Barry Jaeckel (1)Alternate event
Apr 23Houston OpenTexas200,000South Africa Gary Player (24)
Apr 30First NBC New Orleans OpenLouisiana200,000United States Lon Hinkle (1)
May 7Byron Nelson Golf ClassicTexas200,000United States Tom Watson (11)
May 14Colonial National InvitationTexas200,000United States Lee Trevino (23)Invitational
May 14Oklahoma City OpenOklahoma45,000United States Jeff Hewes (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
May 21Memorial TournamentOhio250,000United States Jim Simons (2)Invitational
May 28Atlanta ClassicGeorgia200,000United States Jerry Heard (5)
Jun 4Kemper OpenNorth Carolina300,000United States Andy Bean (2)
Jun 11Danny Thomas Memphis ClassicTennessee250,000United States Andy Bean (3)
Jun 18U.S. OpenColorado225,000United States Andy North (2)Major championship
Jun 18Buick-Goodwrench OpenMichigan100,000Australia Jack Newton (1)Alternate event
Jun 25Canadian OpenCanada250,000United States Bruce Lietzke (3)
Jul 2Western OpenIllinois225,000United States Andy Bean (4)
Jul 9Greater Milwaukee OpenWisconsin150,000United States Lee Elder (3)
Jul 15The Open ChampionshipScotland£125,000United States Jack Nicklaus (67)Major championship[lower-alpha 3]
Jul 16Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities OpenIllinois150,000Mexico Victor Regalado (2)Alternate event
Jul 23IVB-Philadelphia Golf ClassicPennsylvania250,000United States Jack Nicklaus (68)
Jul 30Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford OpenConnecticut210,000United States Rod Funseth (3)
Aug 6PGA ChampionshipPennsylvania300,000United States John Mahaffey (2)Major championship
Aug 13American Optical ClassicMassachusetts225,000United States John Mahaffey (3)
Aug 20American Express Westchester ClassicNew York300,000United States Lee Elder (4)
Aug 27Colgate Hall of Fame ClassicNorth Carolina250,000United States Tom Watson (12)
Sep 4B.C. OpenNew York225,000United States Tom Kite (2)
Sep 10Southern OpenGeorgia175,000United States Jerry Pate (5)
Sep 17San Antonio Texas OpenTexas200,000United States Ron Streck (1)
Sep 24Anheuser-Busch Golf ClassicCalifornia200,000United States Tom Watson (13)
Oct 1World Series of GolfOhio400,000United States Gil Morgan (3)Limited-field event
Oct 29Pensacola OpenFlorida125,000United States Mac McLendon (4)
Nov 5Walt Disney World National Team ChampionshipFlorida200,000United States Wayne Levi (1) and
United States Bob Mann (1)		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
Dec 3 World Cup Hawaii n/a United States John Mahaffey and
United States Andy North		 Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy United States John Mahaffey

Money list

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

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1United States Tom Watson362,429
2United States Gil Morgan267,459
3United States Andy Bean267,241
4United States Jack Nicklaus256,672
5United States Hubert Green247,406
6United States Lee Trevino228,723
7United States Hale Irwin191,666
8United States Billy Kratzert183,681
9South Africa Gary Player177,336
10United States Jerry Pate171,999

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Watson[3]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy)United States Tom Watson[3]

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. ↑ "1979 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Final 1978 PGA Money Winners". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. November 5, 1978. p. 51 (7-E in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Watson Named PGA Player of Year". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. November 13, 1978. p. 14 (B-6 in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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