1978 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores

The 1978 U.S. Women's Open was the 33rd time this major championship was played. The champion, Hollis Stacy, won it for the second year running.

Winner: Hollis Stacy, 289

Where it was played: Country Club of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana

Tournament dates: June 20-23, 1978

Leaders after first round: Donna Caponi, 68

Leaders after second round: Nancy Lopez, Donna White, a-Carol Semple, 144

Leader after third round: Hollis Stacy, 217

What Happened in the 1978 U.S. Women's Open

Defending champion Hollis Stacy won the 1978 U.S. Women's Open, making it back-to-back titles. She was, at the time, just the fourth golfer to win consecutive USWO titles. And she became the first golfer to win the U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Open multiple times each, and each back-to-back.

Stacy's wins in the U.S. Girls' Junior were in 1969, 1970 and 1970. With her second USWO title, Stacy then had five USGA champions to her credit. At the time, Bobby Jones (9), JoAnne Carner and Glenna Collet Vare (6) had won more USGA championships.

Stacy was two off the lead of Donna Caponi after scoring 70 in the first round. Despite a 75 in Round 2, she was just one off the lead at the midway point. The 36-hole leaders included veteran amateur Carol Semple and LPGA rookie sensation Nancy Lopez. But Lopez scored 79 in third round and ended up finishing ninth, while Semple dropped out of the Top 10 with a 77-76 finish.

With a 72 in the third round, Stacy took a one-stroke lead over Carner, and led Caponi and Jane Blalock by two.

In the final round, Carner, playing in the last twosome with Stacy, applied pressure all day. And Sally Little made a spectacular charge. After scoring 75 in each of the first three rounds, Little shot 65 in the final round. It was a new U.S. Women's Open 18-hole scoring record, the first 65 in tournament history. Little's record wasn't matched until 1985, and it took until the 1994 U.S. Women's Open for anyone to beat it.

After Little posted 290, Stacy and Carner tried to beat it. They'd been trading the lead all round, and still had six holes left when Little's record-breaking round was over. When Carner bogeyed the 16th, she fell into a tie with Little with Stacy one in front. And that's how it finished after Stacy sank a four-foot par putt on the final hole.

Mickey Wright, age 43 and a four-time USWO champ, played this tournament for the first time since 1972 and tied for 23rd place. It was her final made cut in a major, and the last time she entered the U.S. Women's Open. This tournament was also the site of the major championship debut of Juli Inkster (playing as Juli Simpson), still an amateur, and she finished tied with Wright in 23rd place.

1978 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores

Hollis Stacy70-75-72-72—289
Sally Little75-75-75-65—290
JoAnne Carner73-72-73-72—290
Pam Higgins74-73-75-71—293
Jane Blalock74-74-71-74—293
Donna Young68-78-73-75—294
Donna White72-72-79-71—294
Kathy Martin76-74-71-73—294
Sandra Post78-73-74-70—295
Nancy Lopez71-73-79-72—295
Peggy Conley75-76-70-74—295
JoAnn Washam72-77-73-74—296
Pat Meyers75-73-76-72—296
Janet Coles71-80-72-73—296
Amy Alcott75-75-75-71—296
a-Carol Semple73-71-77-76—297
Marlene Hagge76-75-75-71—297
Murle Breer75-77-73-72—297
Pat Bradley76-75-76-70—297
Jan Stephenson75-72-77-74—298
Betsy King74-74-79-71—298
Mary Dwyer75-77-71-75—298
Mickey Wright74-77-77-71—299
a-Juli Simpson (Inkster)80-72-72-75—299
Kathy McMullen78-76-74-71—299
Bonnie Lauer73-76-76-74—299
Laura Baugh73-74-76-76—299
Mary Mills76-76-73-75—300
Sharon Miller72-76-77-75—300
Jerilyn Britz74-73-78-75—300
Beth Stone75-76-75-75—301
Shelley Hamlin72-76-81-72—301
Janet Aulisi76-78-73-74—301
Kathy Whitworth76-75-78-73—302
Beth Solomon76-77-76-73—302
Alexandra Reinhardt70-77-77-78—302
Sandra Palmer77-77-75-73—302
Janet Anderson72-75-81-74—302
Sandra Spuzich74-77-74-78—303
Sue Roberts79-73-78-73—303
a-Cynthia Hill71-74-83-75—303
Vicki Fergon70-81-76-76—303
Clifford Creed76-75-77-75—303
Betty Burfeindt74-75-83-71—303
Roberta Speer80-74-77-73—304
Penny Pulz75-76-77-76—304
Debbie Massey76-76-77-75—304
Mary Canney77-74-80-73—304
Lily Wu76-74-82-73—305
JoAnn Prentice79-74-74-78—305
Dorothy Germain74-75-77-79—305
Louise Bruce77-76-74-78—305
Marilyn Smith79-74-79-75—307
Judy Rankin73-75-83-76—307
a-Beth Daniel75-78-77-77—307
Betsy Cullen78-74-76-79—307
Margie Masters78-76-74-80—308
a-Holly Hartley73-76-78-81—308
a-Judith Oliver75-79-79-77—310
Sue Kenney78-74-77-82—311
a-Peggy Kirby78-75-78-81—312
Judy Kimball74-75-83-82—314
Carla Glasgow75-79-81-79—314
a-Debbie Hall73-81-78-84—316
Constance Chillemi78-76-80-82—316
Alice Miller80-74-83-80—317

Sources:
The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. Pro Golf Results, LPGA, July 23, 1978.
Ladies Professional Golf Association. 2004 LPGA Media Guides, Player Biographies, Juli Inkster and Mickey Wright.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champion, 1978, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1978.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--women-s-open-records.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open, Records & Results, 1978, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1978.

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