The 1972 European Tour was a series of golf tournaments that comprised the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tournament circuit. It is officially recognised as the first season of the PGA European Tour. Historically, the PGA's Order of Merit only included tournaments in Great Britain and Ireland, but in 1970 events in continental Europe were included for the first time. The circuit and organisation evolved further over the following years, adopting the name PGA European Golf Tour in 1979.