1983 Ladies European Tour

1983 Ladies European Tour season
DurationMay 1983 (1983-05) – October 1983 (1983-10)
Number of official events18
Order of MeritScotland Muriel Thomson
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The 1983 Ladies European Tour was the fifth season of golf tournaments organised on behalf of the Women's Professional Golfers' Association (WPGA), which later became the Ladies European Tour (LET). There were 17 tournaments on the schedule.

There was a major organisational change from the end of the 1982 season, which ended with the future of the tour in doubt after several tournaments were cancelled. Following action in the High Court, the departure of executive director Barry Edwards, who was also responsible for the tour's marketing, was secured,[1][2][3] and administration of the tour was taken over by the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA).[4] The new executive director of the WPGA was Colin Snape, who had previously been a director at the PGA.[5]

There were twelve new tournaments on the calendar, and only half of the ten from the previous season survived. The Women's British Open, which was to have been jointly sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and by far the richest event on the schedule, was cancelled when sponsors Hitachi withdrew due to the failure of organisers, the Ladies Golf Union, to secure television coverage.[6]

The Order of Merit was won for the second time by Muriel Thomson.[7]

Tournaments

The table below shows the 1983 schedule.[8][9] The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the Ladies European Tour up to and including that event. This is only shown for members of the tour.[10]

Date Tournament Location Winner Score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)–up Winner's
share (£)		 Ref
7 May Ford Ladies Classic England West Germany Barbara Helbig (1) 298 (−2) 4 strokes Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti 3,000 [11]
21 May Smirnoff Ladies Irish Open Northern Ireland Scotland Cathy Panton (7) 224 (+2) Playoff England Beverly Lewis
United States Susan Moon
Scotland Muriel Thomson		 1,500
10 Jun United Friendly Worthing Open England Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti (2) 217 (+4) 5 strokes England Beverly Huke 750
18 Jun UBM Northern Classic England Scotland Cathy Panton (8) 210 (−3) 5 strokes England Jane Forrest 1,000
29 Jun Guernsey Open Guernsey Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti (3) 209 (−7) 3 strokes England Beverly Huke 890 [12]
7 Jul Colt Cars Jersey Open Jersey England Debbie Dowling (1) 215 (+2) 1 stroke England Jenny Lee Smith 890 [13]
22 Jul British Olivetti Tournament England Australia Sandra Mackenzie (1) 223 (+7) 1 stroke England Jane Forrest 900 [14]
29 Jul United Friendly Tournament England Scotland Dale Reid (5) 216 (−6) 2 strokes England Maxine Burton 1,000
31 Jul Middlesbrough Municipal Ladies Classic England England Beverly Lewis (2) 144 (E) 2 strokes Scotland Muriel Thomson
England Mickey Walker		 500 [15]
5 Aug Playford Lark Valley Classic England England Beverly Huke (3)
England Judy Statham (1)		 138 (−4) Tie 350 each [16]
10 Aug White Horse Whisky Challenge England England Beverly Huke (4) 207 (−12) 1 stroke Scotland Muriel Thomson 600 [17]
24 Aug Lilley Brook Cotswold Ladies Classic England Scotland Dale Reid (6) 139 (−9) 2 strokes Sweden Kärstin Ehrnlund
Zimbabwe Elizabeth Glass		 750
31 Aug Melcade International Tournament England England Debbie Dowling (2) 142 (E) 1 stroke England Joanna Smurthwaite 500 [18]
4 Sep Clandeboye Classic Northern Ireland England Christine Sharp (2) 154 (+6) Playoff Scotland Muriel Thomson 600 [19]
11 Sep Dunham Forest Pro-Am England Scotland Cathy Panton (9) 142 (−2) 2 strokes England Mickey Walker 600 [20]
2 Oct Women's British Open England Cancelled [6]
9 Oct Caldy Classic England Scotland Dale Reid (7) 225 (+3) 1 stroke England Maxine Burton
England Jo Rumsey		 700
19 Oct Sands International England England Mickey Walker (4) 233 (+11) 1 stroke England Vanessa Marvin 700 [7]

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on a points system.[7]

Place Player Points Money (£)
1 Scotland Muriel Thomson 1,233 8,899
2 England Mickey Walker 1,185 7,827
3 England Beverly Huke 1,146 9,225
4 Scotland Dale Reid 1,143 8,504
5 England Vanessa Marvin 988 6,881
6 England Maxine Burton 905 5,629
7 Sweden Kärstin Ehrnlund 880 5,428
8 England Debbie Dowling 866 5,504
9 England Jane Forrest 826 5,497
10 England Christine Sharp 800 4,068

Source:[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mair, Lewine (11 October 1982). "Edwards answers with an injunction". The Times. p. 20. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  2. ^ "Sports in Brief". The Times. 8 January 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  3. ^ Hennessy, John (11 January 1983). "A sonic boom for Europe's players". The Times. p. 20. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  4. ^ Hennessy, John (4 May 1983). "Big money will flow from this". The Times. p. 22. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  5. ^ Hennessy, John (8 February 1983). "Events schedule marks WPGA's good health". The Times. p. 24. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  6. ^ a b "Hitachi pull the plug". The Guardian. 12 March 1983. p. 13. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Painful slip by Miss Reid". Glasgow Herald. 20 October 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  8. ^ Tour Guide 2013. Ladies European Tour. 2013. p. 196.
  9. ^ Past Tournament Winners, Ladies European Tour[permanent dead link], GolfToday
  10. ^ Ladies European Tour – 1983 Winners[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (10 May 1983). "Scots duo succumb to German power". Glasgow Herald. p. 14. Retrieved 30 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ "A Spanish plunderer". Glasgow Herald. 30 June 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  13. ^ "Scots girls left trailing". Glasgow Herald. 8 July 1983. p. 26. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  14. ^ "Aussie wins as Thomson falters". Glasgow Herald. 23 July 1983. p. 16. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  15. ^ "Miss Thomson pipped again as Mrs Lewis charges". Glasgow Herald. 1 August 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  16. ^ "Judy clickety-clicks". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 6 August 1983. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ "Miss Huke withstands challenge". Glasgow Herald. 11 August 1983. p. 17. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  18. ^ "Winner has right approach". Glasgow Herald. 1 September 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  19. ^ Magowan, Jack (5 September 1983). "Drama as girl Scot's putter hiccups!". Belfast Telegraph. p. 19. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "Cathy's third win". Aberdeen Evening Express. 26 September 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ^ "Kärstin sjua" [Kärstin seventh]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 9. December 1983. p. 21. Retrieved 18 September 2023.