1979 LPGA Championship: Donna Caponi wins at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center

Donna Caponi won the 1979 LPGA Championship at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center, Mason, Ohio, United States with 279 (−9), by 3 strokes over Jerilyn Britz.

Updated October 23, 2026

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

Dates: June 7, 1979 to June 10, 1979
Course: Jack Nicklaus Sports Center, Mason, Ohio, United States
Edition: 25th edition
Counted as a major: yes
Format: stroke play, 4 rounds
Par: 72 · 6,313 yards
Cut: 152
Purse: $150,000 · winner's share $22,500
Champion: Donna Caponi · age 34 · United States · born Detroit, Michigan, United States
Champion's title: 1st title at this event · 3rd major
Winning score: 69-70-70-70 = 279 (−9) · won by 3 strokes
Runner-up: Jerilyn Britz (282)
54-hole leader: Donna Caponi, Jerilyn Britz

Winner and runner-up

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par
1	Donna Caponi	69	70	70	70	279	−9
2	Jerilyn Britz					282

What happened at the 1979 LPGA Championship

Jerilyn Britz opened with a 64 and was still tied with Donna Caponi after 54 holes before Caponi's closing 70 won by three.

It was Caponi's first major in nine years, since back-to-back U.S. Women's Opens in 1969 and 1970.

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).

1979 LPGA Championship: Donna Caponi wins at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center

Winner and runner-up

What happened at the 1979 LPGA Championship

How this was built

Sources