1978 PGA Tour

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.

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

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 OpenArizona200,000 Tom Watson (9)
Jan 15Phoenix OpenArizona225,000 Miller Barber (11)
Jan 23Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia225,000 Tom Watson (10)Pro-Am
Jan 29Andy Williams-San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia200,000 Jay Haas (1)
Feb 5Hawaiian OpenHawaii250,000 Hubert Green (13)
Feb 13Bob Hope Desert ClassicCalifornia225,000 Bill Rogers (1)Pro-Am
Feb 19Glen Campbell-Los Angeles OpenCalifornia200,000 Gil Morgan (2)
Feb 26Jackie Gleason-Inverrary ClassicFlorida250,000 Jack Nicklaus (65)
Mar 6Florida Citrus OpenFlorida200,000 Mac McLendon (3)
Mar 12Doral-Eastern OpenFlorida200,000 Tom Weiskopf (14)
Mar 19Tournament Players ChampionshipFlorida300,000 Jack Nicklaus (66)Special event
Mar 26Heritage ClassicSouth Carolina225,000 Hubert Green (14)Invitational
Apr 2Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina240,000 Seve Ballesteros (1)
Apr 9Masters TournamentGeorgia262,402 Gary Player (22)Major championship
Apr 9Magnolia ClassicMississippi35,000 Craig Stadler (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
Apr 16MONY Tournament of ChampionsCalifornia225,000 Gary Player (23)Winners-only event
Apr 16Tallahassee OpenFlorida80,000 Barry Jaeckel (1)Alternate event
Apr 23Houston OpenTexas200,000 Gary Player (24)
Apr 30First NBC New Orleans OpenLouisiana200,000 Lon Hinkle (1)
May 7Byron Nelson Golf ClassicTexas200,000 Tom Watson (11)
May 14Colonial National InvitationTexas200,000 Lee Trevino (23)Invitational
May 14Oklahoma City OpenOklahoma45,000 Jeff Hewes (n/a)Second Tour[lower-alpha 2]
May 21Memorial TournamentOhio250,000 Jim Simons (2)Invitational
May 28Atlanta ClassicGeorgia200,000 Jerry Heard (5)
Jun 4Kemper OpenNorth Carolina300,000 Andy Bean (2)
Jun 11Danny Thomas Memphis ClassicTennessee250,000 Andy Bean (3)
Jun 18U.S. OpenColorado310,200 Andy North (2)Major championship
Jun 18Buick-Goodwrench OpenMichigan100,000 Jack Newton (1)Alternate event
Jun 25Canadian OpenCanada250,000 Bruce Lietzke (3)
Jul 2Western OpenIllinois225,000 Andy Bean (4)
Jul 9Greater Milwaukee OpenWisconsin150,000 Lee Elder (3)
Jul 15The Open ChampionshipScotland£125,000 Jack Nicklaus (67)Major championship[lower-alpha 3]
Jul 16Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities OpenIllinois150,000 Victor Regalado (2)Alternate event
Jul 23IVB-Philadelphia Golf ClassicPennsylvania250,000 Jack Nicklaus (68)
Jul 30Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford OpenConnecticut210,000 Rod Funseth (3)
Aug 6PGA ChampionshipPennsylvania300,000 John Mahaffey (2)Major championship
Aug 13American Optical ClassicMassachusetts225,000 John Mahaffey (3)
Aug 20American Express Westchester ClassicNew York300,000 Lee Elder (4)
Aug 27Colgate Hall of Fame ClassicNorth Carolina250,000 Tom Watson (12)
Sep 4B.C. OpenNew York225,000 Tom Kite (2)
Sep 10Southern OpenGeorgia175,000 Jerry Pate (5)
Sep 17San Antonio Texas OpenTexas200,000 Ron Streck (1)
Sep 24Anheuser-Busch Golf ClassicCalifornia200,000 Tom Watson (13)
Oct 1World Series of GolfOhio400,000 Gil Morgan (3)Limited-field event
Oct 29Pensacola OpenFlorida125,000 Mac McLendon (4)
Nov 5Walt Disney World National Team ChampionshipFlorida200,000 Wayne Levi (1) and
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 John Mahaffey and
Andy North		 Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy John Mahaffey

Money list

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

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

Awards
AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the Year Tom Watson[3]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) 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. 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. "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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