1979 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
The 1979 U.S. Women's Open was the 34th time this biggest major championship in women's professional golf was played. The winner was a first-time LPGA victor.
Winner: Jerilyn Britz, 284
Where it was played: Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut
Tournament dates: July 12-15, 1979
Leaders after first round: Jerilyn Britz, Debbie Massey, 70
Leader after second round: Jerilyn Britz, 140
Leader after third round: Debbie Massey, 212
What Happened in the 1979 U.S. Women's Open
Jerilyn Britz won the 1979 U.S. Women's Open by two strokes over runners-up Debbie Massey and Sandra Palmer. It wasn't just Britz's first major championship victory, at age 36 it was her first LPGA Tour win. And she won only once more on the tour afterward.Britz led by two after 36 holes. But a 75 in the third round dropped her into second place, three behind Massey.
In the final round, Massey appeared to shoot herself out of it on the front nine, making two double bogeys and scoring 41 while Britz carded a 35. But Massey made consecutive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to tie Britz for the lead. But Massey then made another double bogey on the final hole, giving Britz the win.
Britz's 284 tied the U.S. Women's Open scoring record of the time for 72 holes. Louise Suggs first posted 284 in the 1952 tournament, and Britz was the first golfer since then to match that total. (The scoring record was lowered in each of the next two USWOs to follow.) Britz finished at even-par. (The golf course, Brooklawn Country Club, was only 6,010 yards and remains the shortest course ever played in a U.S. Women's Open.)
Speaking of Suggs, she played the U.S. Women's Open for the 29th and final time this year. Her first appearance was in 1947. In fact, a trio of LPGA legends played their final U.S. Women's Open this year, all three of them among the original 13 LPGA founders. In addition to Suggs, Patty Berg — the very first USWO champ in 1946 — played for the 31st and final time. And Marilynn Smith, who first played in 1948, also made her last USWO start. All three missed the cut.
1979 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Jerilyn Britz | 70-70-75-69—284 |
| Sandra Palmer | 73-69-74-70—286 |
| Debbie Massey | 70-72-70-74—286 |
| Sally Little | 71-71-74-71—287 |
| JoAnn Washam | 76-74-72-67—289 |
| Mary Dwyer | 73-71-74-71—289 |
| Susie Berning | 79-66-71-73—289 |
| Donna Young | 72-74-74-70—290 |
| Joyce Kazmierski | 76-72-72-70—290 |
| Laura Baugh | 73-72-77-68—290 |
| Amelia Rorer | 73-73-77-69—292 |
| Sandra Post | 72-75-74-71—292 |
| Nancy Lopez | 73-73-73-73—292 |
| Jane Blalock | 71-73-74-74—292 |
| Hollis Stacy | 71-75-74-73—293 |
| Sandra Spuzich | 71-73-74-75—293 |
| Penny Pulz | 73-72-75-73—293 |
| Murle Breer | 76-74-70-73—293 |
| Silvia Bertolaccini | 75-74-71-74—294 |
| Donna White | 74-74-71-76—295 |
| Pam Higgins | 71-72-77-75—295 |
| Shelley Hamlin | 78-70-80-67—295 |
| Lori Garbacz | 76-74-74-71—295 |
| Beth Daniel | 78-70-72-75—295 |
| Janet Coles | 75-71-74-75—295 |
| Jan Stephenson | 75-74-74-73—296 |
| Alexandra Reinhardt | 74-76-68-78—296 |
| Judy Rankin | 76-68-78-74—296 |
| Cathy Morse | 71-75-72-78—296 |
| Pat Bradley | 77-70-74-75—296 |
| Sue Roberts | 75-74-76-72—297 |
| a-Terri Moody | 76-73-74-74—297 |
| Susie McAllister | 76-75-75-71—297 |
| Kathy McMullen | 76-75-73-74—298 |
| Kathryn Young | 75-72-75-77—299 |
| Judy Clark | 75-72-79-73—299 |
| Kathy Postlewait | 78-72-77-73—300 |
| Vicki Fergon | 79-73-75-73—300 |
| Amy Alcott | 77-70-76-77—300 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 73-79-74-75—301 |
| a-Carol Semple | 77-75-74-75—301 |
| Bonnie Lauer | 73-78-76-74—301 |
| Alice Ritzman | 74-76-77-75—302 |
| Kathy Hite | 73-72-79-78—302 |
| Marlene Hagge | 78-74-76-74—302 |
| Jan Ferraris | 74-76-77-75—302 |
| Cathy Thompson | 76-75-75-77—303 |
| Elaine Hand | 76-71-78-78—303 |
| Maria Combs | 74-76-79-74—303 |
| Alice Miller | 77-75-78-74—304 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 75-77-74-79—305 |
| Kathy Ahern | 75-75-77-78—305 |
| Janet Alex | 79-73-79-75—306 |
| Helen Duntz | 73-77-82-75—307 |
| Muffin Spencer-Devlin | 74-76-82-80—312 |
| a-Alicia Ogrin | 75-75-83-85—318 |
Previous and next:
1978 U.S. Women's Open - 1980 U.S. Women's Open
Sources:
Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard. "Britz's 70 opens 2-shot Open gap," The Associated Press, July 14, 1979.
Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard. "Britz not worried about losing lead," The Associated Press, July 15, 1979.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champion, 1979, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1979.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, 1979, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1979.