1966 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Sandra Spuzich, 297
Where it was played: Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota
Tournament dates: June 30-July 3, 1966
Leader after first round: Mickey Wright, 71
Leaders after second round: Sandra Spuzich, Mickey Wright, 149
Leader after third round: Sandra Spuzich, 225
What Happened in the 1966 U.S. Women's Open
At age 29 and on tour for several years without a victory, Sandra Spuzich made the 1966 U.S. Women's Open her first LPGA Tour win. And she held off two future Hall-of-Famers to do it.One of those tour legends was Mickey Wright, a 4-time U.S. Women's Open champ. Wright was the first-round leader with a 71, which remained the only below-par score for the entire tournament.
Spuzich was three behind following the first round, but tied Wright for the second-round lead at 149. That remains today tied for the highest score ever to lead a USWO after 36 holes. Spuzich took the solo lead after Round 3 at 225 and, again, that score remains tied today for the highest to lead after 54 holes.
Going into the final round, Spuzich held a one-stroke lead over Wright and defending champ (and future Hall-of-Famer) Carol Mann. In that final round, Spuzich and Mann scored 72s, Wright 73, with Mann finishing second, one behind, and Wright third, two behind.
Spuzich birdied three of the final five holes. That included the 16th hole, where she went one in front of Mann, and the 17th, which gave her a two-stroke lead heading to the final hole. After Spuzich bogeyed No. 18, Mann had a putt for birdie to tie and force a playoff, but the ball rimmed out of the ball.
Spuzich went on to win seven times total on the LPGA Tour, last in 1982. Her win here remained her only victory in a major, but she tied for second in the 1970 U.S. Women's Open.
This U.S. Women's Open was the national debut of the very young Minnesota course Hazeltine National Golf Club, which opened only four years earlier. Hazeltine went on to host more big events, including U.S. Opens, PGA Championships and Ryder Cups.
1966 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Sandra Spuzich | 75-74-76-72—297 |
| Carol Mann | 73-78-75-72—298 |
| Mickey Wright | 71-78-77-73—299 |
| Clifford Ann Creed | 76-75-76-76—303 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 80-74-76-76—306 |
| Sandra Haynie | 79-75-78-74—306 |
| Judy Torluemke | 77-78-79-73—307 |
| Mary Mills | 79-73-76-80—308 |
| Peggy Wilson | 76-76-81-78—311 |
| Barbara Romack | 80-77-77-77—311 |
| Susie Maxwell | 80-79-75-77—311 |
| a-Shelley Hamlin | 81-74-80-76—311 |
| Shirley Englehorn | 83-77-75-76—311 |
| Gloria Ehret | 82-75-75-79—311 |
| a-Anne Welts | 79-78-77-79—313 |
| Sharon Miller | 75-77-77-84—313 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 78-78-80-78—314 |
| Sandra Palmer | 83-78-79-75—315 |
| a-Joyce Kazmierski | 75-77-82-81—315 |
| Jan Ferraris | 78-81-76-80—315 |
| Donna Caponi | 74-82-81-78—315 |
| Patty Berg | 80-81-80-74—315 |
| a-Roberta Albers | 75-82-81-77—315 |
| a-Peggy Conley | 77-83-80-76—316 |
| Cynthia Sullivan | 79-83-75-80—317 |
| Judy Kimball | 82-75-79-81—317 |
| Marlene Hagge | 78-83-77-79—317 |
| Candy Phillips | 81-77-79-81—318 |
| Margie Masters | 81-79-82-76—318 |
| Mary Lena Faulk | 85-77-79-77—318 |
| Althea Darben | 79-75-81-85—320 |
| Betsy Cullen | 80-77-81-82—320 |
| Louise Suggs | 83-78-80-80—321 |
| a-Renee Powell | 79-83-76-83—321 |
| a-Alice Dye | 79-79-83-80—321 |
| Marilynn Smith | 85-73-83-81—322 |
| Penny Zavichas | 79-82-80-83—324 |
| a-Polly Riley | 83-76-85-82—326 |
| David Fischer | 83-78-81-84—326 |
| Gloria Armstrong | 81-79-87-79—326 |
| a-Donna Gilliam | 78-78-89-82—327 |
| a-Robbye King | 84-78-84-82—328 |
| a-Carol Ellis | 80-82-84-85—331 |
Sources:
Hazeltine National Golf Club. "Historic Hazeltine: 1966 U.S. Women's Open Championship," September 23, 2016, https://www.hazeltinenational.com/blog/2016/09/p10282.
Liska, Jerry. "Spuzich Grabs Lead; Wright, Mann Second," Associated Press, Green Bay (Wisc.) Press-Gazette, July 3, 1966.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1966, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1966.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, 1966, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1966.
