1981 U.S. Women's Open
The 1981 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship was the 36th U.S. Women's Open, held July 23–26 at La Grange Country Club in LaGrange, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 23–26, 1981 |
| Location | LaGrange, Illinois |
| Course(s) | La Grange Country Club |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | LPGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,204 yards (5,673 m)[1][2] |
| Field | 150 players, 70 after cut |
| Cut | 153 (+9) |
| Prize fund | $150,000 |
| Winner's share | $22,000 |
| Champion | |
 | |
| 279 (−9) | |
Country Club
Three strokes back after 54 holes, Pat Bradley shot a final round 66 (−6) to win her only U.S. Women's Open, one stroke ahead of runner-up Beth Daniel.[1][2][3][4] It was the second of Bradley's six major titles.
Kathy Whitworth had her best chance to win the U.S. Women's Open, the only major championship to elude her. She co-led after 18 and 36 holes,[5] and led by a stroke over Bonnie Lauer after the third round.[6] Both faded on Sunday as Whitworth carded a 74 (+2) to finish five strokes back in solo third. With that, she became the first to exceed one million dollars in career earnings on the LPGA Tour.[7]
The course hosted the championship seven years earlier in 1974.
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donna Caponi | | 1969, 1970 | 71 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 290 | +2 | T6 |
| JoAnne Carner | | 1971, 1976 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 74 | 290 | +2 | T6 |
| Sandra Haynie | | 1974 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 292 | +4 | T10 |
| Hollis Stacy | | 1977, 1978 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 292 | +4 | T10 |
| Amy Alcott | | 1980 | 75 | 73 | 72 | 75 | 295 | +7 | T19 |
| Sandra Palmer | | 1975 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 300 | +12 | T29 |
| Jerilyn Britz | | 1979 | 70 | 81 | 75 | 76 | 302 | +14 | T34 |
| Sandra Spuzich | | 1966 | 80 | 71 | 79 | 79 | 309 | +21 | T60 |
| Susie Berning | | 1968, 1972, 1973 | 78 | 75 | 76 | 82 | 311 | +23 | T64 |
Source:[1]
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol Mann | | 1965 | 77 | 81 | 158 | +14 |
Source:[5]
Final leaderboard
Sunday, July 26, 1981
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Bradley | | 71-74-68-66=279 | −9 | 22,000 |
| 2 | Beth Daniel | | 69-74-69-68=280 | −8 | 12,500 |
| 3 | Kathy Whitworth | | 69-70-71-74=284 | −4 | 9,500 |
| T4 | Bonnie Lauer | | 72-67-72-76=287 | −1 | 7,000 |
| Cindy Hill | | 76-70-69-72=287 | |||
| T6 | Donna Caponi | | 71-74-72-73=290 | +2 | 4,562 |
| JoAnne Carner | | 73-71-72-74=290 | |||
| Marlene Floyd | | 71-72-73-74=290 | |||
| Patty Sheehan | | 74-74-72-70=290 | |||
| T10 | Amelia Rorer | | 73-77-69-73=292 | +4 | 2,967 |
| Debbie Massey | | 71-72-72-77=292 | |||
| Hollis Stacy | | 73-75-71-73=292 | |||
| Sally Little | .svg.png){kind=small} | 74-72-76-70=292 | |||
| Sandra Haynie | | 75-73-73-71=292 | |||
| Shelley Hamlin | | 70-75-75-72=292 |
Source:[1]
References
- "Bradley shows she can't be overlooked". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. July 27, 1981. p. 4B.
- "Bradley shoots past field". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. July 27, 1981. p. D2.
- McDermott, Barry (August 3, 1981). "A champion and a winner". p. 42. Cite magazine requires
|magazine=(help) - Kausler, Don, Jr. (July 27, 1981). "Bradley wins Open by 1". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
- "Whitworth touchy about Open hopes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 25, 1981. p. 3C.
- "Whitworth alone in lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 26, 1981. p. 7C.
- "Women's Open emotional". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. July 27, 1981. p. 1C.