1976 PGA Tour
| Duration | January 8, 1976 – November 7, 1976 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 45 |
| Most wins |  Ben Crenshaw (3) Johnny Miller (3) Hubert Green (3) |
| Money list | Jack Nicklaus |
| PGA Player of the Year | Jack Nicklaus |
← 1975 1977 → | |
The 1976 PGA Tour was the 61st season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the eighth season since separating from the PGA of America.
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 1976 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (US$) |
Winner(s)[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11 | NBC Tucson Open | Arizona | 200,000 | Johnny Miller (16) |
|
| Jan 18 | Phoenix Open | Arizona | 200,000 | Bob Gilder (1) |
|
| Jan 25 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | 185,000 | Ben Crenshaw (2) |
Pro-Am |
| Feb 1 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | 230,000 | Ben Crenshaw (3) |
|
| Feb 8 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | 180,000 | Johnny Miller (17) |
Pro-Am |
| Feb 15 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | California | 180,000 | J. C. Snead (5) |
|
| Feb 22 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | California | 185,000 | Hale Irwin (6) |
|
| Mar 1 | Tournament Players Championship | Florida | 300,000 | Jack Nicklaus (60) |
Special event |
| Mar 7 | Florida Citrus Open | Florida | 200,000 | Hale Irwin (7) |
|
| Mar 14 | Doral-Eastern Open | Florida | 200,000 | Hubert Green (9) |
|
| Mar 21 | Greater Jacksonville Open | Florida | 175,000 | Hubert Green (10) |
|
| Mar 28 | Sea Pines Heritage Classic | South Carolina | 215,000 | Hubert Green (11) |
Invitational |
| Apr 4 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | 230,000 | Al Geiberger (8) |
|
| Apr 11 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | 200,000 | Raymond Floyd (7) |
Major championship |
| Apr 11 | Magnolia Classic | Mississippi | 35,000 | Dennis Meyer (n/a) |
Second Tour[b] |
| Apr 18 | MONY Tournament of Champions | California | 225,000 | Don January (10) |
Winners-only event |
| Apr 18 | Tallahassee Open | Florida | 80,000 | Gary Koch (1) |
Alternate event |
| Apr 25 | First NBC New Orleans Open | Louisiana | 175,000 | Larry Ziegler (3) |
|
| May 2 | Houston Open | Texas | 200,000 | Lee Elder (2) |
|
| May 9 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | 200,000 | Mark Hayes (1) |
|
| May 16 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | 200,000 | Lee Trevino (21) |
Invitational |
| May 23 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | Tennessee | 200,000 | Gibby Gilbert (2) |
|
| May 30 | Memorial Tournament | Ohio | 200,000 | Roger Maltbie (3) |
New tournament Invitational |
| Jun 6 | IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic | Pennsylvania | 200,000 | Tom Kite (1) |
|
| Jun 13 | Kemper Open | North Carolina | 250,000 | Joe Inman (1) |
|
| Jun 20 | U.S. Open | Georgia | 210,000 | Jerry Pate (1) |
Major championship |
| Jun 27 | Western Open | Illinois | 200,000 | Al Geiberger (9) |
|
| Jul 4 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | 130,000 | Dave Hill (13) |
|
| Jul 10 | The Open Championship | England | £75,000 | Johnny Miller (18) |
Major championship[c] |
| Jul 11 | Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open | Illinois | 100,000 |  John Lister (1) |
Alternate event |
| Jul 18 | American Express Westchester Classic | New York | 300,000 |  David Graham (2) |
|
| Jul 25 | Canadian Open | Canada | 200,000 | Jerry Pate (2) |
|
| Aug 1 | Pleasant Valley Classic | Massachusetts | 200,000 | Buddy Allin (5) |
|
| Aug 8 | B.C. Open | New York | 200,000 | Bob Wynn (1) |
|
| Aug 16 | PGA Championship | Maryland | 250,000 | Dave Stockton (10) |
Major championship |
| Aug 22 | Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open | Connecticut | 210,000 | Rik Massengale (2) |
|
| Aug 29 | American Golf Classic | Ohio | 200,000 | David Graham (3) |
|
| Aug 29 | Buick Open | Michigan | 60,000 | Ed Sabo (n/a) |
Second Tour[b] |
| Sep 5 | World Series of Golf | Ohio | 400,000 | Jack Nicklaus (61) |
Upgraded to official event Limited-field event |
| Sep 12 | World Open Golf Championship | North Carolina | 200,000 | Raymond Floyd (8) |
|
| Sep 19 | Ohio Kings Island Open | Ohio | 150,000 | Ben Crenshaw (4) |
|
| Sep 26 | Kaiser International Open Invitational | California | 175,000 | J. C. Snead (6) |
|
| Oct 3 | Sahara Invitational | Nevada | 135,000 | George Archer (12) |
|
| Oct 17 | San Antonio Texas Open | Texas | 125,000 | Butch Baird (2) |
|
| Oct 24 | Southern Open | Georgia | 125,000 | Mac McLendon (2) |
|
| Nov 1 | Pensacola Open | Florida | 125,000 | Mark Hayes (2) |
|
| Nov 7 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship | Florida | 200,000 | Woody Blackburn (1) and Billy Kratzert (1) |
Team event |
Unofficial events
[edit]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 12 | World Cup | California | 4,200 |  Seve Ballesteros and Manuel Piñero
|
Team event |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | 2,100 |  Ernesto Pérez Acosta
|
Money list
[edit]The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus |
266,438 |
| 2 | Ben Crenshaw |
257,759 |
| 3 | Hale Irwin |
252,718 |
| 4 | Hubert Green |
228,031 |
| 5 | Al Geiberger |
194,821 |
| 6 | J. C. Snead |
192,645 |
| 7 | Raymond Floyd |
178,318 |
| 8 | David Graham |
176,174 |
| 9 | Don January |
163,622 |
| 10 | Jerry Pate |
153,102 |
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| PGA Player of the Year | Jack Nicklaus |
[3] |
| Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) | Don January |
[4] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Official money; unofficial win.
- ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
[edit]- ^ "1977 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ "PGA Money leaders". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. December 26, 1976. p. 92. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Green, Bob (December 26, 1976). "Nicklaus wins player of year, not major events". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. p. 17. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Greene, Jerry (December 23, 1976). "Golf". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 78 (3-C in paper). Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.