1983 Ladies European Tour

1983 Ladies European Tour season
DurationMay 1983 (1983-05) – October 1983 (1983-10)
Number of official events18
Order of Merit Muriel Thomson
← 1982
1984 →

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, and administration of the tour was taken over by the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA). The new executive director of the WPGA was Colin Snape, who had previously been a director at the PGA.

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.

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

Tournaments

The table below shows the 1983 schedule. 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.

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

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on a points system.

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

Source:

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.