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 Stacy | 70-75-72-72—289 |
| Sally Little | 75-75-75-65—290 |
| JoAnne Carner | 73-72-73-72—290 |
| Pam Higgins | 74-73-75-71—293 |
| Jane Blalock | 74-74-71-74—293 |
| Donna Young | 68-78-73-75—294 |
| Donna White | 72-72-79-71—294 |
| Kathy Martin | 76-74-71-73—294 |
| Sandra Post | 78-73-74-70—295 |
| Nancy Lopez | 71-73-79-72—295 |
| Peggy Conley | 75-76-70-74—295 |
| JoAnn Washam | 72-77-73-74—296 |
| Pat Meyers | 75-73-76-72—296 |
| Janet Coles | 71-80-72-73—296 |
| Amy Alcott | 75-75-75-71—296 |
| a-Carol Semple | 73-71-77-76—297 |
| Marlene Hagge | 76-75-75-71—297 |
| Murle Breer | 75-77-73-72—297 |
| Pat Bradley | 76-75-76-70—297 |
| Jan Stephenson | 75-72-77-74—298 |
| Betsy King | 74-74-79-71—298 |
| Mary Dwyer | 75-77-71-75—298 |
| Mickey Wright | 74-77-77-71—299 |
| a-Juli Simpson (Inkster) | 80-72-72-75—299 |
| Kathy McMullen | 78-76-74-71—299 |
| Bonnie Lauer | 73-76-76-74—299 |
| Laura Baugh | 73-74-76-76—299 |
| Mary Mills | 76-76-73-75—300 |
| Sharon Miller | 72-76-77-75—300 |
| Jerilyn Britz | 74-73-78-75—300 |
| Beth Stone | 75-76-75-75—301 |
| Shelley Hamlin | 72-76-81-72—301 |
| Janet Aulisi | 76-78-73-74—301 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 76-75-78-73—302 |
| Beth Solomon | 76-77-76-73—302 |
| Alexandra Reinhardt | 70-77-77-78—302 |
| Sandra Palmer | 77-77-75-73—302 |
| Janet Anderson | 72-75-81-74—302 |
| Sandra Spuzich | 74-77-74-78—303 |
| Sue Roberts | 79-73-78-73—303 |
| a-Cynthia Hill | 71-74-83-75—303 |
| Vicki Fergon | 70-81-76-76—303 |
| Clifford Creed | 76-75-77-75—303 |
| Betty Burfeindt | 74-75-83-71—303 |
| Roberta Speer | 80-74-77-73—304 |
| Penny Pulz | 75-76-77-76—304 |
| Debbie Massey | 76-76-77-75—304 |
| Mary Canney | 77-74-80-73—304 |
| Lily Wu | 76-74-82-73—305 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 79-74-74-78—305 |
| Dorothy Germain | 74-75-77-79—305 |
| Louise Bruce | 77-76-74-78—305 |
| Marilyn Smith | 79-74-79-75—307 |
| Judy Rankin | 73-75-83-76—307 |
| a-Beth Daniel | 75-78-77-77—307 |
| Betsy Cullen | 78-74-76-79—307 |
| Margie Masters | 78-76-74-80—308 |
| a-Holly Hartley | 73-76-78-81—308 |
| a-Judith Oliver | 75-79-79-77—310 |
| Sue Kenney | 78-74-77-82—311 |
| a-Peggy Kirby | 78-75-78-81—312 |
| Judy Kimball | 74-75-83-82—314 |
| Carla Glasgow | 75-79-81-79—314 |
| a-Debbie Hall | 73-81-78-84—316 |
| Constance Chillemi | 78-76-80-82—316 |
| Alice Miller | 80-74-83-80—317 |
Previous and next:
1977 U.S. Women's Open - 1979 U.S. Women's Open
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.