1976 LPGA Tour
The 1976 LPGA Tour was the 27th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 30 to November 27. The season consisted of 31 official money events. Judy Rankin won the most tournaments, six. She also led the money list with earnings of $150,734.
The season saw the first official tournaments played outside North America; the Colgate European Open in England, the LPGA/Japan Mizuno Classic in Japan, the Colgate-Hong Kong Open in Hong Kong, and the Colgate Far East Championship in the Philippines. There were four first-time winners in 1976: Pat Bradley, Hisako "Chako" Higuchi, the first winner from Japan, Sally Little, the first winner from Africa, and Jan Stephenson.
The tournament results and award winners are listed below.
Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1976 season.[1] "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Winner | Score | Purse ($) | 1st prize ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1 | Burdine's Invitational | Florida |  Judy Rankin (14) | 213 (-3) | 40,000 | 5,700 |
| Feb 8 | Sarah Coventry Naples Classic | Florida |  Jan Stephenson (1) | 218 (+2) | 60,000 | 8,500 |
| Feb 15 | Orange Blossom Classic | Florida | JoAnne Carner (14) | 209 (-7) | 45,000 | 6,400 |
| Feb 22 | Bent Tree Classic | Florida | Kathy Whitworth (75) | 209 (-7) | 60,000 | 8,500 |
| Apr 4 | Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle | California | Judy Rankin (15) | 285 (-3) | 185,000 | 32,000 |
| Apr 18 | Karsten-Ping Open | Arizona | Judy Rankin (16) | 205 (-11) | 80,000 | 14,000 |
| Apr 25 | Birmingham Classic | Alabama | Jan Stephenson (2) | 203 (-13) | 40,000 | 5,700 |
| May 2 | Lady Tara Classic | Georgia | JoAnne Carner (15) | 209 (-10) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| May 9 | Women's International | South Carolina |  Sally Little (1) | 281 (-7) | 70,000 | 10,000 |
| May 16 | American Defender Classic | North Carolina | Sue Roberts (4) | 211 (-5) | 45,000 | 6,400 |
| May 23 | '76 LPGA Classic | New Jersey | Amy Alcott (2) | 209 (-4) | 76,000 | 14,000 |
| May 30 | LPGA Championship | Maryland | Betty Burfeindt (4) | 287 (-5) | 55,000 | 8,000 |
| Jun 6 | Girl Talk Classic | New York | Pat Bradley (1) | 217 (+1) | 76,000 | 14,000 |
| Jun 13 | Peter Jackson Classic | Canada | Donna Caponi (8) | 212 (-4) | 60,000 | 12,000 |
| Jun 20 | Hoosier Classic | Indiana | JoAnne Carner (16) | 210 (-6) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Jun 27 | Babe Zaharias Invitational | Ohio | Judy Rankin (17) | 287 (-1) | 100,000 | 15,000 |
| Jul 4 | Bloomington Bicentennial Classic | Indiana | Sandra Palmer (12) | 209 (-4) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Jul 11 | U.S. Women's Open | Pennsylvania | JoAnne Carner (17) | 292 (+8) | 60,000 | 9,054 |
| Jul 18 | Borden Classic | Ohio | Judy Rankin (18) | 205 (-11) | 70,000 | 10,000 |
| Jul 25 | Lady Keystone Open | Pennsylvania | Susie Berning (11) | 215 (-1) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Aug 7 | Colgate European Open | England |  Hisako "Chako" Higuchi (1) | 284 (-12) | 100,000 | 15,000 |
| Aug 15 | Wheeling Classic | West Virginia | Jane Blalock (13) | 217 (+1) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Aug 22 | Patty Berg Classic | Minnesota | Kathy Whitworth (76) | 212 (-7) | 55,000 | 8,000 |
| Aug 29 | National Jewish Hospital Open | Colorado | Sandra Palmer (13) | 206 (-10) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Sep 5 | Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Classic | Illinois | Sandra Palmer (14) | 213 (-3) | 100,000 | 15,000 |
| Sep 12 | Dallas Civitan Open | Texas | Jane Blalock (14) | 205 (-11) | 50,000 | 7,000 |
| Sep 19 | Portland Classic | Oregon | Donna Caponi (9) | 217 (-2) | 45,000 | 6,400 |
| Sep 26 | The Carlton | California | Donna Caponi (10) | 282 (-6) | 205,000 | 35,000 |
| Nov 3 | LPGA/Japan Mizuno Classic | Japan | Donna Caponi (11) | 217 (-5) | 100,000 | 15,000 |
| Nov 20 | Colgate-Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | Judy Rankin (19) | 216 (E) | 50,000 | 10,000 |
| Nov 27 | Colgate Far East Championship | Philippines | Amy Alcott (3) | 211 (-5) | 100,000 | 15,000 |
LPGA Tour vs. The Masters Tournament
In January 1976 the LPGA Tour announced the formation of a new tournament. It was to be titled the Ladies Masters and sponsors said they would pattern the event similar to the Masters Tournament.[2] A little over a month later the LPGA announced the tournament's name was being changed to the Women's International.[3] This happened after Masters Tournament officials contacted the tournament's sponsor and threatened to go to court unless the word Masters wasn't removed from the tournament title.[4]
The Women's International proved to be a short lived event. Its final edition was played in 1985.
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Money winner | Judy Rankin | United States |
| Scoring leader (Vare Trophy) | Judy Rankin (2) | United States |
| Player of the Year | Judy Rankin | United States |
| Rookie of the Year | Bonnie Lauer | United States |