Donna Caponi-Byrnes (b.
January 29, 1945,
Detroit
, Michigan
) is an
American
professional
golfer.
The daughter of a club pro, Caponi began playing golf at the age of
eight and joined the pro tour at 20. It took Caponi-Byrnes four
years to capture her first win, but she did it on the tour's
biggest stage, capturing the U.S. Women's Open. She won by one
stroke, with a dramatic closing round score of 69 that included a
birdie on the final hole. Only
Mickey
Wright had ever won back-to-back U.S. Women's Opens before
Caponi-Byrnes turned the trick in 1970, when she also matched
Wright's 72-hole scoring record of 287.
Donna Caponi won twenty-four events on the
LPGA Tour, including four
major championships. She finished in the top
ten on the money list ten times between 1968 and 1981, including
second place finishes in 1976 and 1980. She was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame in
2001.
Personal life
She married her longtime boyfriend Edward "Ted" Byrnes on July 29,
2006. She is currently an announcer on
The Golf Channel, covering the
Champions Tour.
LPGA wins (24)
- 1969 (2) U.S.
Open,
Lincoln-Mercury Open
- 1970 (2) Bluegrass Invitational, U.S.
Open
- 1973 (1) Bluegrass Invitational
- 1975 (2) Burdine’s Invitational, Lady Tara Classic
- 1976 (4) Peter Jackson
Classic, Portland Classic, The
Carlton, LPGA/Japan Mizuno
Classic
- 1978 (2) The Sarah Coventry, Houston Exchange Clubs
Classic
- 1979 (1) LPGA
Championship
- 1980 (5) LPGA National Pro-Am, Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s
Circle, Corning Classic,
United Virginia Bank Classic, ERA Real Estate Classic
- 1981 (5) LPGA Desert Inn Pro-Am, American Defender/WRAL Golf
Classic, LPGA
Championship, WUI Classic, Boston Five Classic
- Note: Caponi won the Peter Jackson Classic (which became
the du Maurier Classic) and
the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winnder's Circle (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship)
before they became major championships.
LPGA
Majors are shown in
bold.
Major Championships
Wins (4)
See also
External links
Wikis
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