Today we celebrate a momentous milestone in the history of the European Tour group.
Exactly 50 years ago today, on April 12, 1972, the first official tournament in history of the European Tour - now known as the DP World Tour – took place at Golf Club de Pals, in Girona, with the opening round of the Open de España.
The inaugural tournament won three days later by Spaniard Antonio Garrido who, alongside the legendary Seve Ballesteros, went on to be the first Continental Europeans to play in the Ryder Cup in 1979.
The 1972 Open de España was the culmination of a near 20-year campaign led by John Jacobs OBE, the Tour’s founding father, to modernise the structure of tournament golf in Europe.
Since that day, the Tour has evolved into a global sporting organisation, having played 1916 tournaments at 440 different venues and in 50 different countries over the past half a century.
A total of 8,468 different players have played on Tour representing 110 different countries. Of those, 557 different players have won, representing 37 different nations.
To commemorate our 50th anniversary, today we look back on some of the players and moments that have defined our history.
Sam Torrance, Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1972, takes us on a look back over the past fifty years on Tour.
WHAT TO READ/WATCH
Throughout the week, this page will be continually updated with content you can read and watch which celebrates 50 years of the Tour.
