1978 LPGA Tour

1978 LPGA Tour season
DurationFebruary 10, 1978 (1978-02-10) – November 12, 1978 (1978-11-12)
Number of official events34
Most wins9 Nancy Lopez
Money leader Nancy Lopez
Player of the Year Nancy Lopez
Rookie of the Year Nancy Lopez
1977
1979

The 1978 LPGA Tour was the 29th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from February 10 to November 12. The season consisted of 34 official money events. Nancy Lopez won the most tournaments, nine. She also led the money list with earnings of $189,814.

There were four first-time winners in 1978: Janet Coles, Shelley Hamlin, Nancy Lopez, and Michiko Okada. Lopez was the first (and as of 2011, only) player to be named LPGA Rookie of the Year and LPGA Player of the Year in the same year. She won 48 LPGA events in her career.

The tournament results and award winners are listed below.

Tournament results

The following table shows all the official money events for the 1978 season.[1] "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.

Date Tournament Location Winner Score Purse ($) 1st prize ($)
Feb 12 American Cancer Society Classic Florida Debbie Austin (6) 212 (−4) 50,000 7,500
Feb 20 Orange Blossom Classic Florida Jane Blalock (17) 212 (−4) 60,000 9,000
Feb 26 Bent Tree Classic Florida Nancy Lopez (1) 289 (−1) 100,000 15,000
Mar 12 Sunstar Classic California Nancy Lopez (2) 285 (−3) 100,000 15,000
Mar 19 Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Classic California Sally Little (2) 282 (−6) 150,000 22,500
Apr 2 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle California Sandra Post (2) 283 (−5) 240,000 36,000
Apr 16 Birmingham Classic Alabama Hollis Stacy (4) 207 (−9) 60,000 9,000
Apr 23 American Defender Classic North Carolina Amy Alcott (5) 206 (−10) 55,000 8,250
Apr 30 Natural Light Lady Tara Classic Georgia Janet Coles (1) 211 (−8) 75,000 11,250
May 8 Women's International South Carolina Jan Stephenson (3) 283 (−5) 80,000 12,000
May 14 Greater Baltimore Classic Maryland Nancy Lopez (3) 212 (−7) 65,000 9,750
May 21 Coca-Cola Classic New Jersey Nancy Lopez (4) 210 (−3) 100,000 15,000
May 29 Golden Lights Championship New York Nancy Lopez (5) 277 (−11) 100,000 15,000
Jun 4 Peter Jackson Classic Canada JoAnne Carner (21) 278 (−14) 100,000 15,000
Jun 11 LPGA Championship Ohio Nancy Lopez (6) 275 (−13) 150,000 22,500
Jun 18 Bankers Trust Classic New York Nancy Lopez (7) 214 (−5) 75,000 11,250
Jun 25 Lady Keystone Open Pennsylvania Pat Bradley (3) 206 (−10) 50,000 7,500
Jul 3 Mayflower Classic Indiana Jane Blalock (18) 209 (−7) 75,000 11,250
Jul 9 Wheeling Classic West Virginia Jane Blalock (19) 207 (−9) 75,000 11,250
Jul 16 Borden Classic Ohio JoAnne Carner (22) 209 (−7) 85,000 12,750
Jul 23 U.S. Women's Open Indiana Hollis Stacy (5) 289 (+5) 100,000 15,000
Jul 30 Hoosier Classic Indiana Pat Bradley (4) 206 (−10) 60,000 9,000
Aug 6 Colgate European Open England Nancy Lopez (8) 289 (−7) 100,000 15,000
Aug 13 WUI Classic New York Judy Rankin (25) 283 (−9) 100,000 15,000
Aug 20 Lady Stroh's Open Michigan Sandra Post (3) 286 (−2) 150,000 22,500
Aug 27 Patty Berg Classic Minnesota Shelley Hamlin (1) 208 (−11) 75,000 11,250
Sep 4 Rail Charity Classic Illinois Pat Bradley (5) 276 (−12) 100,000 15,000
Sep 10 National Jewish Hospital Open Colorado Kathy Whitworth (80) 211 (−5) 60,000 9,000
Sep 17 The Sarah Coventry California Donna Caponi (12) 282 (−10) 100,000 15,000
Oct 1 Golden Lights Championship California Jane Blalock (20) 276 (−12) 100,000 15,000
Oct 15 Civitan Open Texas Silvia Bertolaccini (2) 213 (−3) 75,000 11,250
Oct 22 Houston Exchange Clubs Classic Texas Donna Caponi (13) 207 (−9) 50,000 7,500
Nov 3 Mizuno-Japan Classic Japan Michiko Okada (1*) 216 (−6) 125,000 18,750
Nov 12 Colgate Far East Open Malaysia Nancy Lopez (9) 216 (E) 100,000 15,000

* - non-member at time of win

Awards

Award Winner Country
Money winner Nancy Lopez United States
Scoring leader (Vare Trophy) Nancy Lopez United States
Player of the Year Nancy Lopez United States
Rookie of the Year Nancy Lopez United States

References

  1. ^ "LPGA Tournament Chronology 1970-1979" (PDF). LPGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2010.