1961 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Mickey Wright, 293
Where it was played: Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course) in Springfield, New Jersey
Tournament dates: June 29-July 1, 1961
Leaders after first round: Mickey Wright, Jo Ann Prentice, 72
Leaders after second round: Jo Ann Prentice, Ruth Jessen, 148
Leader after third round: Mickey Wright, 221
What Happened in the 1961 U.S. Women's Open
Mickey Wright won the third of her four career U.S. Women's Open titles in 1961, pulling away over the final two rounds (which were both played on the third and final day, as was the USWO norm at the time). The defending champion, Betsy Rawls, finished six strokes behind in second place. Rawls was the first golfer to win this major four times, and Wright joined her with another victory in the 1964 U.S. Women's Open.Wright shared the first-round lead, but an 80 in the second round dropped her four off the pace set by Jo Ann Prentice and Ruth Jessen.
In the third round, however, Wright scored 69, by three strokes the lowest round of the tournament. She added a 72 in Round 4, scoring 141 over the final 36 holes, for the final margin of victory. Wright, a long hitter for the era, played the four par-5 holes on the course in 7-under par over the four rounds.
A USGA tournament history notes that this event had record crowds for all four rounds — nearly 4,000 spectators showed up for the final round.
Wright was 26 years old at the time, and had previously won the U.S. Women's Open in 1958 and 1959. This was the sixth of her 13 career wins in LPGA majors. It was the 24th victory of her LPGA Tour career, out of an eventual 82 wins.
1961 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Mickey Wright | 72-80-69-72—293 |
| Betsy Rawls | 74-76-73-76—299 |
| Ruth Jessen | 75-73-77-75—300 |
| Louise Suggs | 78-74-76-73—301 |
| Marilynn Smith | 77-74-77-75—303 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 72-76-80-76—304 |
| a-Marlene Streit | 74-77-77-78—306 |
| Barbara Romack | 77-77-78-74—306 |
| Mary Lena Faulk | 78-77-80-73—308 |
| Shirley Englehorn | 80-73-78-77—308 |
| Carolyn Cudone | 77-76-75-80—308 |
| Murle MacKenzie | 78-79-78-74—309 |
| Fay Crocker | 76-83-77-73—309 |
| Carol Mann | 80-75-77-79—311 |
| Kathy Cornelius | 76-80-73-82—311 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 81-81-77-74—313 |
| Sybil Griffin | 82-77-77-79—315 |
| Patty Berg | 82-83-77-74—316 |
| Gerda Whalen | 80-82-77-78—317 |
| Marlene Hagge | 80-84-75-78—317 |
| a-Anne Richardson | 75-76-83-84—318 |
| Betty Jameson | 81-81-79-77—318 |
| Barbara Greene | 80-80-81-77—318 |
| a-Helen Wilson | 74-81-81-83—319 |
| a-Judy Torluemke | 82-78-78-82—320 |
| Judy Kimball | 78-79-85-78—320 |
| Beverly Hanson | 83-80-78-79—320 |
| Beth Stone | 82-81-77-81—321 |
| Wanda Sanches | 82-82-79-79—322 |
| a-Marianne Gable | 81-79-80-82—322 |
| Peggy Bell | 86-78-78-80—322 |
| Gloria Armstrong | 81-84-82-76—323 |
| a-Carol Semple | 86-81-80-78—325 |
| a-Phyllis Preuss | 81-83-78-83—325 |
| a-Marjorie Burns | 81-85-78-82—326 |
| a-Judy Rand | 79-81-85-83—328 |
| a-Barbara McGhie | 80-81-87-81—329 |
| a-Barbara Fitton | 82-85-81-82—330 |
| a-Gail Purdy | 84-84-81-85—334 |
| a-Doris Phillips | 83-85-84-83—335 |
| a-Nancy Roth | 81-87-82-86—336 |
Sources:
Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review. "Jessen, Prentice, Share Open First," Associated Press, July 1, 1961.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1961, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1961.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, 1961, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1961.
