1972 PGA Tour

1972 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1972 (1972-01-06) – December 3, 1972 (1972-12-03)
Number of official events47[a]
Most winsUnited States Jack Nicklaus (7)
Money listUnited States Jack Nicklaus
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Jack Nicklaus
← 1971
1973 →

The 1972 PGA Tour was the 57th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the fourth season since separating from the PGA of America.

Rogelio Gonzales suspension

At the Greater New Orleans Open, Colombian rookie, Rogelio Gonzales was disqualified after it was learned that he had changed his scorecard earlier in the tournament.[1] In addition to his disqualification, the PGA Tour lifted Gonzales playing privileges.[2]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1972 season.[3]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$) 		Winner(s)[b] Notes
Jan 9 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open California 125,000 United States George Archer (10)
Jan 16 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 140,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (39) Pro-Am
Jan 24 Dean Martin Tucson Open Arizona 150,000 United States Miller Barber (7)
Jan 30 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational California 150,000 United States Paul Harney (6)
Feb 6 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 200,000 United States Grier Jones (1)
Feb 13 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 145,000 United States Bob Rosburg (6) Pro-Am
Feb 20 Phoenix Open Arizona 125,000 United States Homero Blancas (3)
Feb 27 Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic Florida 260,000 United States Tom Weiskopf (5) New tournament
Mar 5 Doral-Eastern Open Florida 150,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (40)
Mar 12 Florida Citrus Open Florida 150,000 United States Jerry Heard (2)
Mar 19 Greater Jacksonville Open Florida 125,000 England Tony Jacklin (4)
Mar 26 Greater New Orleans Open Louisiana 125,000 South Africa Gary Player (16)
Apr 2 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 200,000 United States George Archer (11)
Apr 9 Masters Tournament Georgia 204,649 United States Jack Nicklaus (41) Major championship
Apr 9 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 35,000 United States Mike Morley (n/a) Second Tour[c]
Apr 16 Monsanto Open Florida 150,000 United States Dave Hill (9)
Apr 23 Tournament of Champions California 165,000 United States Bobby Mitchell (2) Winners-only event
Apr 23 Tallahassee Open Florida 75,000 Australia Bob Shaw (1) Alternate event
Apr 30 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 125,000 United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez (6)
May 7 Houston Open Texas 125,000 Australia Bruce Devlin (7)
May 7 Shreveport Classic Louisiana 25,000 United States Don Iverson (n/a) Second Tour[c]
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas 125,000 United States Jerry Heard (3) Invitational
May 14 Maumelle Open Arkansas 25,000 United States Ed Sneed (n/a) Second Tour[c]
May 21 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 175,000 United States Lee Trevino (12)
May 28 Atlanta Classic Georgia 130,000 United States Bob Lunn (6)
Jun 4 Kemper Open North Carolina 175,000 United States Doug Sanders (20)
Jun 11 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Pennsylvania 150,000 United States J. C. Snead (3)
Jun 18 U.S. Open California 200,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (42) Major championship
Jun 25 Western Open Illinois 150,000 United States Jim Jamieson (1)
Jul 3 Cleveland Open Ohio 150,000 Australia David Graham (1)
Jul 9 Canadian Open Canada 150,000 United States Gay Brewer (10)
Jul 15 The Open Championship Scotland £50,000 United States Lee Trevino (13) Major championship[d]
Jul 16 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 125,000 United States Jim Colbert (2) Alternate event
Jul 23 American Golf Classic Ohio 150,000 United States Bert Yancey (7)
Jul 30 National Team Championship Pennsylvania 200,000 United States Babe Hiskey (3) and
United States Kermit Zarley (3)		 Team event
Jul 30 Vern Parsell Buick Open Michigan 20,000 United States Gary Groh (n/a) Second Tour[c]
Aug 6 PGA Championship Michigan 225,000 South Africa Gary Player (17) Major championship
Aug 13 Westchester Classic New York 250,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (43)
Aug 20 USI Classic Massachusetts 200,000 Australia Bruce Devlin (8)
Aug 27 U.S. Professional Match Play Championship North Carolina 200,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (44) Limited-field event
Aug 27 Liggett & Myers Open North Carolina 100,000 United States Lou Graham (2) New tournament
Alternate event
Sep 4 Greater Hartford Open Invitational Connecticut 125,000 United States Lee Trevino (14)
Sep 10 Southern Open Georgia 100,000 United States DeWitt Weaver (2)
Sep 17 Greater St. Louis Golf Classic Missouri 150,000 United States Lee Trevino (15) New tournament
Sep 24 Robinson's Fall Golf Classic Illinois 100,000 United States Grier Jones (2)
Oct 1 Quad Cities Open Iowa 100,000 United States Deane Beman (3)
Oct 22 Kaiser International Open Invitational California 150,000 Canada George Knudson (7)
Oct 29 Sahara Invitational Nevada 135,000 United States Lanny Wadkins (1)
Nov 5 San Antonio Texas Open Texas 125,000 United States Mike Hill (2)
Nov 27 Sea Pines Heritage Classic South Carolina 125,000 United States Johnny Miller (2) Invitational
Dec 3 Walt Disney World Open Invitational Florida 150,000 United States Jack Nicklaus (45)
Dec 10 Bahamas National Open Bahamas – Cancelled[4]

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
Nov 12 World Cup Australia 6,300 Taiwan Hsieh Min-Nan and
Taiwan Lu Liang-Huan 		Team event
World Cup Individual Trophy Taiwan Hsieh Min-Nan

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[5][6]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 United States Jack Nicklaus 320,542
2 United States Lee Trevino 214,805
3 United States George Archer 145,027
4 United States Grier Jones 140,177
5 United States Jerry Heard 137,198
6 United States Tom Weiskopf 129,422
7 South Africa Gary Player 120,719
8 Australia Bruce Devlin 119,768
9 United States Tommy Aaron 118,924
10 United States Lanny Wadkins 116,616

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year United States Jack Nicklaus [7]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) United States Lee Trevino [8]

Notes

  1. ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c d Official money; unofficial win.
  4. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

  1. ^ "Tampering charged; Golfer suspended". The Spokesman-Review. AP. April 1, 1972. p. 11. Retrieved October 26, 2012 – via Google News Archive.
  2. ^ McDermott, Barry (June 19, 1972). "Keeping A Close Eye On The Ball". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "1973 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour Media. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bahamas tournament cancelled". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. April 25, 1972. Retrieved May 10, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ "Nicklaus Makes '72 The Year Of The Golden Bear | Top ten money winners on 1972 PGA Tour". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. December 25, 1972. p. 83 (D5 in paper). Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Seven wins and $320,542". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. December 4, 1972. p. 12. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Nicklaus PGA Player of the Year". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. November 1, 1972. p. 17. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Cullenward, Nelson (December 30, 1972). "Not Even Nicklaus Is Scratch". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 26. Retrieved November 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.