1997 Senior PGA Tour

Golf tour season

1997 Senior PGA Tour seasonDuration| January 17, 1997 (1997-01-17) – November 9, 1997 (1997-11-09)

|

Number of official events| 39
Most wins|  Hale Irwin (9)
Money list|  Hale Irwin
Player of the Year|  Hale Irwin
Rookie of the Year|  Gil Morgan

← 1996

1998 →

The 1997 Senior PGA Tour was the 18th season of the Senior PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States for men aged 50 and over.

## Schedule

[edit]

The following table lists official events during the 1997 season.[1][2]

Date  | Tournament  | Location  | Purse
(US$)  | Winner[a] | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Jan 19 | MasterCard Championship | Hawaii | 1,000,000 |  Hale Irwin (5) |
Feb 2 | Royal Caribbean Classic | Florida | 850,000 |  Gibby Gilbert (6) |
Feb 9 | LG Championship | Florida | 1,000,000 |  Hale Irwin (6) |
Feb 16 | GTE Classic | Florida | 900,000 |  David Graham (1) |
Feb 23 | American Express Invitational | Florida | 1,200,000 |  Buddy Allin (1) |
Mar 16 | Toshiba Senior Classic | California | 1,000,000 |  Bob Murphy (11) |
Mar 30 | Southwestern Bell Dominion | Texas | 800,000 |  David Graham (2) |
Apr 6 | The Tradition | Arizona | 1,200,000 |  Gil Morgan (2) | Senior PGA Tour major championship
Apr 20 | PGA Seniors' Championship | Florida | 1,200,000 |  Hale Irwin (7) | Senior major championship
Apr 27 | Las Vegas Senior Classic | Nevada | 1,000,000 |  Hale Irwin (8) |
May 4 | Bruno's Memorial Classic | Alabama | 1,150,000 |  Jay Sigel (3) |
May 11 | Home Depot Invitational | North Carolina | 900,000 |  Jim Dent (11) |
May 18 | Cadillac NFL Golf Classic | New Jersey | 950,000 |  Bruce Crampton (20) |
May 25 | Bell Atlantic Classic | Pennsylvania | 1,000,000 |  Bob Eastwood (1) |
Jun 1 | Ameritech Senior Open | Illinois | 1,200,000 |  Gil Morgan (3) |
Jun 8 | BellSouth Senior Classic | Tennessee | 1,300,000 |  Gil Morgan (4) |
Jun 15 | du Maurier Champions | Canada | 1,100,000 |  Jack Kiefer (2) |
Jun 22 | Nationwide Championship | Georgia | 1,300,000 |  Graham Marsh (4) |
Jun 29 | U.S. Senior Open | Illinois | 1,300,000 |  Graham Marsh (5) | Senior major championship
Jul 6 | Kroger Senior Classic | Ohio | 1,000,000 |  Jay Sigel (4) |
Jul 13 | Ford Senior Players Championship | Michigan | 1,800,000 |  Larry Gilbert (3) | Senior PGA Tour major championship
Jul 20 | Burnet Senior Classic | Minnesota | 1,350,000 |  Hale Irwin (9) |
Jul 27 | Senior British Open | Northern Ireland | £350,000 |  Gary Player (21) | Senior major championship[b]
Jul 27 | Franklin Quest Championship | Utah | 1,000,000 |  Dave Stockton (14) |
Aug 3 | BankBoston Classic | Massachusetts | 1,000,000 |  Hale Irwin (10) |
Aug 10 | Northville Long Island Classic | New York | 1,000,000 |  Dana Quigley (1) |
Aug 17 | First of America Classic | Michigan | 1,000,000 |  Gil Morgan (5) |
Aug 24 | Saint Luke's Classic | Missouri | 1,000,000 |  Bruce Summerhays (1) |
Aug 31 | Pittsburgh Senior Classic | Pennsylvania | 1,100,000 |  Hugh Baiocchi (1) |
Sep 7 | Bank One Classic | Kentucky | 800,000 |  Vicente Fernández (2) |
Sep 14 | Boone Valley Classic | Missouri | 1,300,000 |  Hale Irwin (11) |
Sep 21 | Comfort Classic | Indiana | 1,050,000 |  David Graham (3) |
Sep 28 | Emerald Coast Classic | Florida | 1,100,000 |  Isao Aoki (7) |
Oct 5 | Vantage Championship | North Carolina | 1,500,000 |  Hale Irwin (12) |
Oct 12 | The Transamerica | California | 800,000 |  Dave Eichelberger (3) |
Oct 19 | Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic | Hawaii | 850,000 |  Hale Irwin (13) |
Oct 26 | Raley's Gold Rush Classic | California | 900,000 |  Bob Eastwood (2) |
Nov 2 | Ralphs Senior Classic | California | 1,000,000 |  Gil Morgan (6) |
Nov 9 | Energizer Senior Tour Championship | South Carolina | 1,850,000 |  Gil Morgan (7) | Tour Championship

### Unofficial events

[edit]

The following events were sanctioned by the Senior PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date | Tournament | Location | Purse
($) | Winners | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Dec 7 | Office Depot Father/Son Challenge | Florida | 860,000 |  Raymond Floyd and
son Raymond Floyd Jr. | Team event

## Money list

[edit]

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

Position | Player | Prize money ($)

|
|

1 |  Hale Irwin | 2,343,364
2 |  Gil Morgan | 2,160,562
3 |  Isao Aoki | 1,410,499
4 |  Jay Sigel | 1,294,838
5 |  David Graham | 1,173,579

## Awards

[edit]

Award | Winner | Ref.

|
|

Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) |  Hale Irwin | [4]
Rookie of the Year |  Gil Morgan | [5]
Scoring leader (Byron Nelson Award) |  Hale Irwin | [6]
Comeback Player of the Year |  George Archer | [5]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of Senior PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Senior PGA Tour members.
2. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1998 Senior PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
2. ^ "2004 Champions Tour Media Guide | Tournament Chronology" (PDF). PGA Tour. pp. 219–233 (5-21–5-35 in document). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
3. ^ "1997 Money list". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
4. ^ "No contest". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. December 10, 1997. p. 31 (C5 in paper). Retrieved December 2, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ a b "Other awards". North County Times. Oceanside, California. January 11, 1998. p. 36 (C-10 in paper). Retrieved December 2, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "1997 Scoring average". PGA Tour. Retrieved December 2, 2023.

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[edit]

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