1981 LPGA Championship: Donna Caponi wins at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center (Grizzly Course)

Donna Caponi won the 1981 LPGA Championship at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center (Grizzly Course), Kings Island, Ohio, United States with 280 (−8), by 1 stroke over Jerilyn Britz and Pat Meyers.

Updated October 23, 2026

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

Dates: June 11, 1981 to June 14, 1981
Course: Jack Nicklaus Sports Center (Grizzly Course), Kings Island, Ohio, United States
Edition: 27th edition
Counted as a major: yes
Format: stroke play, 4 rounds
Par: 72 · 6,258 yards
Cut: 149
Purse: $150,000 · winner's share $22,500
Champion: Donna Caponi · age 36 · United States · born Detroit, Michigan, United States
Champion's title: 2nd title at this event · 4th major
Winning score: 69-68-70-73 = 280 (−8) · won by 1 stroke
Runners-up: Jerilyn Britz, Pat Meyers (281 each)
54-hole leader: Donna Caponi

Winner and runners-up

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par
1	Donna Caponi	69	68	70	73	280	−8
T2	Jerilyn Britz					281
T2	Pat Meyers					281

What happened at the 1981 LPGA Championship

Caponi won by holing an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish one stroke ahead of Jerilyn Britz and Pat Meyers.

Friday's round was halted for more than 2 1/2 hours by torrential rain and tornado alerts.

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).

1981 LPGA Championship: Donna Caponi wins at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center (Grizzly Course)

Winner and runners-up

What happened at the 1981 LPGA Championship

How this was built

Sources