1962 U.S. Women's Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Murle Lindstrom, 301
Where it was played: Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Tournament dates: June 28-30, 1962
Leader after first round: Ruth Jessen, 72
Leaders after second round: Ruth Jessen, Mickey Wright, 148
Leader after third round: Ruth Jessen, 223
What Happened in the 1962 U.S. Women's Open
Merle Lindstrom's first win as a professional golfer was here, in the 1962 U.S. Women's Open, and she earned it with a 5-stroke comeback in the final round.Ruth Jessen opened with a 72, a score that nobody beat the rest of the tournament. Jessen led by three, tying the tournament record for largest 18-hole lead. Lindstrom had a 78 in Round 1, tied for second-highest first-round score by any golfer who went on to win this major.
Jessen maintained at least a share of the lead following the second and third rounds, too, while Lindstrom trailed by four strokes following the second round and by five strokes after Round 3. But in the final round, played in wet weather, Jessen scored 80 while Lindstrom had a 73. That gave Lindstrom the victory at 301, with Jessen and Jo Ann Prentice tied for second at 303.
Newspaper reports at the time said that Lindstrom (later known as Murle Breer) had planned to quit the LPGA Tour following the U.S. Women's Open, frustrated at having gone five years without winning since turning pro. Instead, she continued playing the LPGA Tour for many years to come, and ultimately won three more tournaments, last in 1969.
The U.S. Women's Open record for largest final-round comeback to win remains five strokes today, by multiple champions — but Lindstrom was the first to do it. This was the last USWO won with a 72-hole total in the 300s.
JoAnne Gunderson, then known as "the Great Gundy" but later much more famous under her married name, JoAnne Carner, made her U.S. Women's Open debut and tied for 15th as low amateur. She won this tournament in 1971 and 1976. The tournament recordholder for consecutive Top 25 finishes is Patty Berg, with 17 in a row. She tied for 13th this year, and the 1962 USWO was the last of those consecutive Top 25 finishes (Berg actually finished no lower than 18th during the streak).
1962 U.S. Women's Open Final Scores
| Murle Lindstrom | 78-74-76-73—301 |
| JoAnn Prentice | 75-77-73-78—303 |
| Ruth Jessen | 72-76-75-80—303 |
| Mickey Wright | 75-73-81-77—306 |
| Louise Suggs | 80-77-74-75—306 |
| Mary Lena Faulk | 78-74-77-78—307 |
| Shirley Englehorn | 81-72-79-75—307 |
| Shirley Spork | 77-77-79-75—308 |
| Marlene Hagge | 76-75-81-76—308 |
| Kathy Whitworth | 80-78-73-78—309 |
| Mary Mills | 78-79-77-75—309 |
| Barbara Romack | 76-76-81-78—311 |
| Kathy Cornelius | 79-79-78-76—312 |
| Patty Berg | 85-75-75-77—312 |
| Marilynn Smith | 79-77-80-77—313 |
| a-JoAnne Gunderson | 82-74-77-80—313 |
| a-Clifford Ann Creed | 79-78-75-84—316 |
| Carol Mann | 82-79-80-76—317 |
| Jackie Pung | 76-83-75-84—318 |
| Peggy Bell | 80-82-79-77—318 |
| Betsy Rawls | 86-74-80-79—319 |
| Sandra Haynie | 77-83-83-76—319 |
| a-Nancy Roth | 78-83-79-80—320 |
| a-Mary-Ann Lopez | 77-81-82-80—320 |
| Judy Kimball | 78-77-75-90—320 |
| Judy Torluemke | 79-81-82-80—322 |
| a-Polly Riley | 81-75-87-79—322 |
| a-Alice Dye | 78-78-84-82—322 |
| Beth Stone | 82-81-82-78—323 |
| Lesbia Lobo | 82-82-78-83—325 |
| Sherry Wheeler | 85-81-83-77—326 |
| Betty Jameson | 79-83-82-83—327 |
| a-Carolyn Cudone | 84-80-76-87—327 |
| a-Anne Richardson | 83-82-81-82—328 |
| Sybil Griffin | 83-82-86-77—328 |
| Gloria Armstrong | 84-79-82-83—328 |
| a-Doris Phillips | 81-83-83-87—334 |
| Margaret Allen | 90-76-86-84—336 |
| a-Maureen Crum | 82-84-83-88—337 |
| a-Pam Barnett | 87-78-87-86—338 |
| Sandra McClinton | 85-78-86-102—351 |
Sources:
LPGA Tour. 2004 LPGA Tour Media Guide, Player Biographies, JoAnne Carner.
Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review. "Lindstrom Snaps Records in Winning Women's Open," Associated Press, July 1, 1962.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Women's Open Past Champions, 1962, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20100314144601/https://www.uswomensopen.com/history/pastchamps/1962.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, 1962, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/history-timeline/scoring-and-stats/scoring.html#!&y=1962.
