1977 LPGA Championship: Chako Higuchi wins at Bay Tree Golf Plantation (Gold Course)

Chako Higuchi won the 1977 LPGA Championship at Bay Tree Golf Plantation (Gold Course), North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States with 279 (−9), by 3 strokes over Pat Bradley and Sandra Post and Judy Rankin.

Updated October 23, 2026

Every year is on the KPMG Women's PGA Championship winners list.

Dates: June 9, 1977 to June 12, 1977
Course: Bay Tree Golf Plantation (Gold Course), North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States
Edition: 23rd edition
Counted as a major: yes
Format: stroke play, 4 rounds
Par: 72 · 6,074 yards
Field: 99
Made the cut: 64 (cut at 154)
Purse: $150,000 · winner's share $22,500
Champion: Chako Higuchi · age 31 · Japan · born Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
Champion's title: 1st title at this event · 1st major
Winning score: 71-67-72-69 = 279 (−9) · won by 3 strokes
Runners-up: Pat Bradley, Sandra Post, Judy Rankin (282 each)
54-hole leader: Chako Higuchi, Pat Bradley, Judy Rankin

Winner and runners-up

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par
1	Chako Higuchi	71	67	72	69	279	−9
T2	Pat Bradley					282
T2	Sandra Post					282
T2	Judy Rankin					282

What happened at the 1977 LPGA Championship

Chako Higuchi closed with a 69 to win by three over Pat Bradley, Sandra Post and Judy Rankin, after sharing the 54-hole lead with Bradley and Rankin.

Higuchi became the first Japanese and first Asian-born player to win a major championship in golf, men's or women's.

How this was built

Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's KPMG Women's PGA Championship data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.

Data: womens-golf-majors_dataset_2026-10-20.json (GNN's women's majors research set, "master" row for this year, research dated October 20, 2026).

1977 LPGA Championship: Chako Higuchi wins at Bay Tree Golf Plantation (Gold Course)

Winner and runners-up

What happened at the 1977 LPGA Championship

How this was built

Sources