The following table lists official events during the 1979 season.[ 1]
Date
Tournament
Location
PurseUS$ )
Winner(s)[ a]
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 Major championship
Apr 15
Magnolia Classic Mississippi
50,000
Bobby Walzel (n/a)Second Tour[ b]
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 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 Major championship [ c]
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 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
The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[ 2] [ 3]
Position
Player
Prize money ($)
1
Tom Watson 462,636
2
Larry Nelson 281,022
3
Lon Hinkle 247,693
4
Lee Trevino 238,732
5
Ben Crenshaw 236,770
6
Bill Rogers 230,500
7
Andy Bean 208,253
8
Bruce Lietzke 198,439
9
Fuzzy Zoeller 196,951
10
Lanny Wadkins 195,710
^ 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.
^ Official money; unofficial win.
^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
^ "1980 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF) . PGA Tour. Retrieved November 7, 2023 .^ "Money leaders" Daily News . New York, New York. November 25, 1979. p. 484. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.^ Shriver, Jerry (October 14, 1979). "Watson Holds Off The Young Lions" Pensacola News Journal . Pensacola, Florida. p. 173. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "Tom Watson named PGA player of year" Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. November 8, 1979. p. 75. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.^ "John Fought" . Portland Interscholastic League Hall of Fame . Retrieved August 22, 2024 . Then Fought not only made it to the PGA Tour, but he also was the 1979 Rookie of the Year, winning back-to-back events. ^ Greenberg, Don (November 1, 1979). "Watson Likes to Keep Things Elementary" The Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 71. Retrieved November 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Tom Watson (5)