The 1981 European Tour was the tenth official season of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournaments known as the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

 and organised by the Professional Golfers' Association

Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain & Ireland)

The Professional Golfers' Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...

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The Order of Merit was won by West Germany's Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...

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Schedule

The table below shows the 1981 European Tour schedule which was made up of 24 tournaments, which included the major national opens around Europe. The other tournaments were mostly held in England, Wales and Scotland. There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Lawrence Batley International

Lawrence Batley International

The Lawrence Batley International was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1981 to 1987. The first three editions were played at Bingley St lves, Bradford, the next three at Ryder Cup venue The Belfry and the final edition at Open Championship venue Royal Birkdale...

, the Suntory World Match Play and the Lancome Trophy, and the loss of the Newcastle Brown "900" Open

Newcastle Brown "900" Open

The Newcastle Brown "900" Open was a golf tournament on the European Tour in 1980. It was held at Northumberland Golf Club in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was won by Ireland's Des Smyth.-Winners:-External links:*...

 and the Merseyside International Open

Merseyside International Open

The Merseyside International Open was a golf tournament on the European Tour in 1980. It was held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake near Liverpool, England. It was won by England's Ian Mosey, who defeated Tony Jacklin in a playoff.-Winners:...

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Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	Notes
23–26 Apr	Madrid Open	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Sanchez is a Spanish professional golfer.Piñero was born in Badajoz. He turned professional in 1968 and established himself on the European Tour in the early 1970s. He won nine titles on the Tour, the most prestigious of them the 1977 British PGA Championship...
30 Apr–1 May	Italian Open Italian Open (golf) The BMW Italian Open, as it is currently known for sponsorship reasons, is the Italian national open golf championship for men. It was founded in 1925 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's first season in 1972....	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	José Maria Cañizares
7–10 May	Paco Rabanne Open de France	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...
14–17 May	Martini International Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the European Tour's schedule from the tour's first official season in 1972 until the event ceased...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
22–25 May	Sun Alliance PGA Championship	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Nick Faldo Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander "Nick" Faldo, MBE is an English professional golfer on the European Tour who now mainly works as an on air golf analyst. Over his career, he has won six majors: three Open Championships and three Masters. He was ranked the World No...
28–31 May	Dunlop Masters	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
4–7 Jun	Lawrence Batley International Lawrence Batley International The Lawrence Batley International was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1981 to 1987. The first three editions were played at Bingley St lves, Bradford, the next three at Ryder Cup venue The Belfry and the final edition at Open Championship venue Royal Birkdale...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...	New tournament
11–14 Jun	Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer.Gallacher was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Assocation Boys Championship. He won the 1967 Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship and turned professional the same...
18–21 Jun	Billy Butlin Jersey Open	Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...	Tony Jacklin Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE is an English golfer, who was the most successful British player of his generation. He was also the most successful European Ryder Cup captain ever.-Early life and education:...
25–28 Jun	Coral Classic	Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...	Des Smyth Des Smyth Desmond John Smyth is an Irish professional golfer.Smyth was born in Drogheda, County Louth. He turned professional in 1974 and was a member of the European Tour for over a quarter of a century. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was seventh in 1988...
2–5 Jul	Scandinavian Enterprise Open Scandinavian Enterprise Open The Scandinavian Enterprise Open was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in Sweden until 1990, when it had a prize fund of £400,000, which was mid-range for the tour at that time....	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Seve Ballesteros
8–11 Jul	State Express Classic	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Rodger Davis Rodger Davis Rodger Miles Davis is an Australian professional golfer.Davis was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1974 and spent his regular career playing mainly on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour. He won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1990 and 1991...
16–19 Jul	The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Bill Rogers Bill Rogers (golfer) William Charles Rogers is an American professional golfer who is best known as the winner of the 1981 Open Championship....
23–26 Jul	KLM Dutch Open	Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	Harold Henning Harold Henning Harold Henning was a South African professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour....
30 Jul–2 Aug	German Open German Open (golf) The German Open was a men's golf tournament. It was first staged in 1911 when the winner was Harry Vardon. The following year the champion was another of the Great Triumvirate of late 19th and early 20th century British golfers, John Henry Taylor. The tournament was then cancelled for over a decade...	West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...
13–16 Aug	Carroll's Irish Open	Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...	Sam Torrance Sam Torrance Sam Torrance OBE is a Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a member of European Ryder Cup teams on eight occasions, from 1981 to 1995 consecutively; he was...
20–23 Aug	Benson and Hedges International Open	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Tom Weiskopf Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s, and he won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982. After winding down his tournament career, Weiskopf has become a noted golf course...
27–30 Aug	Swiss Open	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Sanchez is a Spanish professional golfer.Piñero was born in Badajoz. He turned professional in 1968 and established himself on the European Tour in the early 1970s. He won nine titles on the Tour, the most prestigious of them the 1977 British PGA Championship...
3–6 Sept	Dixcel Tissues European Open	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Graham Marsh Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...
10–13 Sept	Haig Whisky TPC	Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...	Brian Barnes Brian Barnes (golfer) Brian Barnes is a professional golfer. He was born in Addington, Surrey, England, and lives in England, but he represented Scotland at the international level...
24–27 Sept	Bob Hope British Classic Bob Hope British Classic The Bob Hope British Classic was the original and most often used name of a European Tour golf tournament which was played in England every year but one from 1980 to 1991. It had six different names in total. The English born American entertainer Bob Hope was one of the most prominent celebrity...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...
1–4 Oct	Benson and Hedges Spanish Open	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Seve Ballesteros
8–11 Oct	Suntory World Match Play	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Seve Ballesteros	New tournament
15–18 Oct	Lancome Trophy	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	David Graham David Graham (golfer) Anthony David Graham is a former professional golfer from Australia.Born in Windsor, Australia, Graham turned professional in 1962 at age 16 and spent much of his career in the United States, playing on the PGA Tour. Turning age 50 in 1996, he joined the Senior PGA Tour, later known as the...

Official Money List

The PGA European Tour's money list was known as the "Official Money List". It was based on prize money earned during the season and calculated in Pound sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

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Position	Player	Country	Prize money (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... )
1	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...		81,036
2	Nick Faldo Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander "Nick" Faldo, MBE is an English professional golfer on the European Tour who now mainly works as an on air golf analyst. Over his career, he has won six majors: three Open Championships and three Masters. He was ranked the World No...		48,109
3	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...		44,732
4	Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...		44,254
5	Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Sanchez is a Spanish professional golfer.Piñero was born in Badajoz. He turned professional in 1968 and established himself on the European Tour in the early 1970s. He won nine titles on the Tour, the most prestigious of them the 1977 British PGA Championship...		39,640
6	Sam Torrance Sam Torrance Sam Torrance OBE is a Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a member of European Ryder Cup teams on eight occasions, from 1981 to 1995 consecutively; he was...		36,012
7	Seve Ballesteros		35,154
8	Des Smyth Des Smyth Desmond John Smyth is an Irish professional golfer.Smyth was born in Drogheda, County Louth. He turned professional in 1974 and was a member of the European Tour for over a quarter of a century. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was seventh in 1988...		29,105
9	Eamonn Darcy Eamonn Darcy Eamonn Darcy is one of the most successful golfers produced by the Republic of Ireland.Darcy was born in Delgany, County Wicklow. He turned professional in 1968 and played on the European Tour from 1972, winning four European Tour tournaments. His best years were 1975, when he came third on the...		25,805
10	José Maria Cañizares		25,529

External links

• 1981 season results on the PGA European Tour website
• 1981 Order of Merit on the PGA European Tour website