The 1977 LPGA Tour was the 28th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from February 11 to November 13. The season consisted of 32 official money events. Debbie Austin and Judy Rankin won the most tournaments, five each. Rankin led the money list with earnings of $122,890, becoming the first player to win $100,000 in a season.
There were six first-time winners in 1977: Debbie Austin, Silvia Bertolaccini, Vivian Brownlee, Bonnie Lauer, Debbie Massey, and Hollis Stacy.
The tournament results and award winners are listed below.
Tournament results The following table shows all the official money events for the 1977 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.
Date Tournament Location Winner Score Purse ($) 1st prize ($) Feb 13 American Cancer Society Classic Florida Pam Higgins (2) 212 (−4) 50,000 7,500 Feb 20 Orange Blossom Classic Florida Judy Rankin (20) 208 (−8) 50,000 7,500 Feb 27 Bent Tree Classic Florida Judy Rankin (21) 209 (−7) 100,000 15,000 Mar 27 Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Classic California Sandra Palmer (15) 281 (−7) 150,000 22,500 Apr 3 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle California Kathy Whitworth (77) 289 (+1) 240,000 36,000 Apr 17 Women's International South Carolina Sandra Palmer (16) 281 (−7) 80,000 12,000 Apr 24 American Defender Classic North Carolina Kathy Whitworth (78) 206 (−10) 50,000 7,500 May 1 Birmingham Classic Alabama Debbie Austin (1) 207 (−9) 60,000 9,000 May 8 Lady Tara Classic Georgia Hollis Stacy (1) 209 (−10) 50,000 7,500 May 15 Greater Baltimore Golf Classic Maryland Jane Blalock (15) 209 (−10) 55,000 8,250 May 22 LPGA Coca-Cola Classic New Jersey Kathy Whitworth (79) 202 (−11) 77,000 11,500 May 29 Lady Keystone Open Pennsylvania Sandra Spuzich (4) 201 (−9) 50,000 7,500 Jun 5 Talk Tournament '77 New York JoAnne Carner (18) 284 (−4) 100,000 15,000 Jun 12 LPGA Championship South Carolina Hisako "Chako" Higuchi (2) 279 (−9) 150,000 22,500 Jun 19 Mayflower Classic Indiana Judy Rankin (22) 212 (−4) 50,000 7,500 Jun 26 Hoosier Classic Indiana Debbie Austin (2) 207 (−9) 50,000 7,500 Jul 3 Peter Jackson Classic Canada Judy Rankin (23) 212 (−4) 80,000 12,000 Jul 10 Bankers Trust Classic New York Pat Bradley (2) 213 (−6) 75,000 11,000 Jul 17 Borden Classic Ohio JoAnne Carner (19) 207 (−9) 80,000 12,000 Jul 24 U.S. Women's Open Minnesota Hollis Stacy (2) 292 (+4) 75,000 11,040 Jul 31 Pocono Northeast Classic Pennsylvania Debbie Austin (3) 213 (−6) 75,000 11,000 Aug 6 Colgate European Women's Open England Judy Rankin (24) 281 (−15) 100,000 15,000 Aug 14 Long Island Charity Classic New York Debbie Austin (4) 279 (−9) 100,000 15,000 Aug 21 Wheeling Classic West Virginia Debbie Austin (5) 209 (−7) 50,000 7,500 Aug 28 Patty Berg Classic Minnesota Bonnie Lauer (1) 212 (−7) 55,000 8,250 Sep 4 Rail Muscular Dystrophy Classic Illinois Hollis Stacy (3) 271 (−17) 100,000 15,000 Sep 11 National Jewish Hospital Open Colorado JoAnne Carner (20) 210 (−6) 50,000 7,500 Sep 25 The Sarah Coventry California Jane Blalock (16) 282 (−10) 100,000 15,000 Oct 2 Dallas Civitan Open Texas Vivian Brownlee (1) 217 (+1) 50,000 7,500 Oct 9 Houston Exchange Clubs Classic Texas Amy Alcott (4) 208 (−8) 50,000 7,500 Nov 3 Mizuno Japan Classic Japan Debbie Massey (1) 220 (−2) 100,000 15,000 Nov 13 Colgate Far East Open Singapore Silvia Bertolaccini (1) 214 (−2) 100,000 15,000
Awards AwardWinnerCountry Money winner Judy Rankin (2) Scoring leader (Vare Trophy) Judy Rankin (3) Player of the Year Judy Rankin (2) Rookie of the Year Debbie Massey
References
External links LPGA Tour official site 1977 season coverage at golfobserver.com