1969 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
The 1969 U.S. Women's Open was the 24th edition of this major championship tournament. The winner was not just a first-time major champion, but also a first-time winner on the LPGA Tour.
Winner: Donna Caponi, 294
Where it was played: Scenic Hills Country Club in Pensacola, Florida
Tournament dates: June 26-29, 1969
Leaders after first round: Peggy Wilson, 71
Leader after second round: Jo Ann Prentice, 144
Leader after third round: Ruth Jessen, 220
What Happened in the 1969 U.S. Women's Open
Donna Caponi, a 24-year-old who turned pro in 1965, won the 1969 U.S. Women's Open by one stroke over Peggy Wilson, with Kathy Whitworth two behind in third. It was Caponi's very first win on the LPGA Tour, the first of her eventual 24 LPGA victories. And it was the first of her four career wins in major championship. The next year, Caponi won the USWO again, becoming just the second golfer in U.S. Women's Open history to win back-to-back. (Mickey Wright was the first in 1958-59.)Caponi came from five strokes behind at the start of the final round, tying the tournament record (which still stands today) first set by Murle Lindstrom in the 1962 U.S. Women's Open. Her final-round 69 was one of just three sub-70 rounds recorded during the tournament, and was the lowest final-round score to this point by any USWO champion.
Caponi was three off Wilson's lead following the first round. She slipped six off the lead after a 76 in the second round.
The third-round leader was Ruth Jessen at 220, two ahead of second-place Wilson but five in front of Caponi. But Jessen wilted in the intense heat in which the final round was played, scoring 78 and falling to fourth.
Caponi took the lead when she made eagle on the 15th hole. She parred the 16th and bogeyed No. 17. After she played her drive on the final hole, a thunderstorm halted play for 15 minutes. Returning to the hole, Caponi showed no sign of nerves — she finished off her 69, and her victory, with a birdie.
1969 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Donna Caponi | 74-76-75-69—294 |
| Peggy Wilson | 71-76-75-73—295 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 76-78-69-73—296 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 73-71-79-75—298 |
| Ruth Jessen | 73-72-75-78—298 |
| Sybil Griffin | 73-76-77-72—298 |
| Shirley Englehorn | 72-76-77-76—301 |
| Mickey Wright | 76-79-76-71—302 |
| Louise Suggs | 76-78-75-73—302 |
| Mary Mills | 75-80-71-76—302 |
| Murle Lindstrom | 74-79-74-75—302 |
| Clifford Creed-Gordon | 76-76-75-75—302 |
| Sandra Spuzich | 76-72-79-76—303 |
| Sandra Haynie | 76-73-74-80—303 |
| Kathy Cornelius | 80-74-76-73—303 |
| Beth Stone | 77-74-74-79—304 |
| Marilynn Smith | 80-74-77-73—304 |
| a-Phyllis Preuss | 79-77-79-69—304 |
| Susie Berning | 78-78-75-73—304 |
| Gerda Whalen | 78-78-76-73—305 |
| Betsy Rawls | 77-80-76-72—305 |
| Susan Little | 74-78-77-76—305 |
| Sherry Wilder | 78-75-76-77—306 |
| Sharon Miller | 75-79-75-77—306 |
| a-Shelley Hamlin | 86-72-76-72—306 |
| Carol Mann | 77-78-77-75—307 |
| Marlene Hagge | 80-75-76-76—307 |
| Jane Blalock | 77-76-81-75—309 |
| Signa Quandt | 78-80-75-77—310 |
| Sharron Moran | 82-76-76-76—310 |
| Betsy Cullen | 78-77-76-79—310 |
| a-Betty Probasco | 76-76-76-84—312 |
| Sandra Palmer | 78-80-76-78—312 |
| a-Connie Day | 76-81-80-75—312 |
| Judy Kimball | 76-80-79-79—314 |
| a-Alice Dye | 79-78-80-78—315 |
| Kathy Ahern | 76-82-78-79—315 |
| a-Lancy Smith | 80-78-82-76—316 |
| a-Beth Barry | 79-79-79-79—316 |
| Joyce Kazmierski | 77-75-82-83—317 |
| Pam Barnett | 80-77-79-81—317 |
| Debbie Austin | 76-81-79-81—317 |
| Lesley Holbert | 79-76-82-81—318 |
Sources:
The Idaho Statesman. "Ruth Jessen Forges to Lead in U.S. Women's Open," Associated Press, June 29, 1969.
The Miami (Fla.) News. "U.S. Women's Open Scores," Associated Press, June 28, 1969.
Moran, Sheila. "Peggy Wilson Leads By One," The (White Plains, N.Y.) Reporter Dispatch, June 27, 1969.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1969, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1969.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, 1969, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1969.
