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.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1979 season.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(US$)Winner(s)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 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 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
Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
DateTournamentLocationPurse($)Winner(s)NotesSep 16Ryder CupWest Virginian/a Team USATeam eventNov 11World CupGreecen/a Hale Irwin and John MahaffeyTeam eventWorld Cup Individual Trophy Hale Irwin
Money list The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.
Position Player Prize money ($)1 Tom Watson 462,6362 Larry Nelson 281,0223 Lon Hinkle 247,6934 Lee Trevino 238,7325 Ben Crenshaw 236,7706 Bill Rogers 230,5007 Andy Bean 208,2538 Bruce Lietzke 198,4399 Fuzzy Zoeller 196,95110 Lanny Wadkins 195,710
Awards AwardWinner PGA Player of the Year Tom Watson Rookie of the Year John Fought Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) Tom Watson
Notes
References
External links