1986_European_Tour
1986 European Tour
Golf tour season
The 1986 European Tour, titled as the 1986 PGA European Tour,[1] was the 15th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 10 April 1986 (1986-04-10) – 26 October 1986 (1986-10-26) |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26[lower-alpha 1] |
| Most wins |  Seve Ballesteros (6) |
| Order of Merit | Seve Ballesteros |
| Golfer of the Year | Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | José María Olazábal |
← 1985 1987 → | |
There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Epson Grand Prix of Europe Matchplay Championship and the PLM Open;[2][3] the return of the Bell's Scottish Open, as the Glasgow Open was rebranded,[4] and the loss of the GSI L'Equipe Open.
Before the season started, the Tunisian Open, scheduled as the opening event opposite the Masters Tournament, was cancelled after sponsors withdrew funding for the event.[5]
Order of Merit minimum tournaments
In 1986 the minimum number of tournaments needed to qualify for the Order of Merit was increased from seven to nine.
The following table lists official events during the 1986 season.[6]
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) |
Winner(s) | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep | Dunhill Cup | Scotland | US$1,000,000 |  Team Australia |
n/a | Team event |
| 5 Oct | Suntory World Match Play Championship | England | 175,000 | Greg Norman |
32 | Limited-field event |
The Order of Merit was titled as the Epson Order of Merit and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[8]
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seve Ballesteros | 242,209 |
| 2 | José María Olazábal | 136,775 |
| 3 |  Howard Clark | 121,903 |
| 4 |  Ian Woosnam | 111,799 |
| 5 | Gordon J. Brand | 106,314 |
| 6 |  Mark McNulty | 101,327 |
| 7 | Rodger Davis | 95,429 |
| 8 |  Anders Forsbrand | 84,706 |
| 9 |  Ronan Rafferty | 80,336 |
| 10 |  Gordon Brand Jnr | 78,639 |
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Seve Ballesteros | [9] |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | José María Olazábal | [10] |
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins.
- Langer and Ballesteros were declared joint winners as they remained tied after failing light caused play to halt after four holes of a playoff.[7]
- "Tour History". European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- Davies, David (6 November 1985). "US shutters come down". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 28. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Platts, Mitchell (6 November 1985). "Dates for richer tour". The Times. London, United Kingdom. p. 23. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "Scottish Open rings the bell". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, United Kingdom. 10 June 1986. p. 21. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Tour change". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 11 January 1986. p. 21. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "1986 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- Davies, David (20 October 1986). "Ballesteros and Langer go halves". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 29. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Williams, Michael (28 October 1986). "£1m more prize money for European circuit". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 30. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Super Sevvy". Evening Post. Bristol, United Kingdom. 30 December 1986. p. 27. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Glover, Tim (30 October 1986). "Olazabal voted rookie of year". The Independent. London, United Kingdom. p. 26. Retrieved 21 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.