Donna Caponi

Donna Caponi
Personal information
Full name	Donna Caponi-Byrnes
Born	(1945-01-29) January 29, 1945 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Spouse	Ken Young (1971–81) Ted Byrnes (2006–)
Career
Turned professional	1965
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (joined 1965)
Professional wins	29
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	24
Other	5
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 4)
Western Open	21st: 1967
Titleholders C'ship	12th: 1966
Chevron Championship	T13: 1985
Women's PGA C'ship	Won: 1979, 1981
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1969, 1970
du Maurier Classic	3rd: 1980, 1982
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2001 (member page) GWAA Female Player of the Year 1981 PGA First Lady of Golf Award 2010

Donna Caponi-Byrnes (born January 29, 1945) is an American LPGA Tour professional golfer. She became a member of the tour in 1965 and won four major championships and 24 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur career

Caponi was born in Detroit, Michigan. She started playing golf at the age of 5. She learned golf from her father, Harry, and won the Los Angeles Junior title in 1956. She tied for 21st as an amateur at the 1964 Hillside House Ladies' Open on the LPGA Tour.

Professional career

Caponi joined the LPGA Tour in 1965. She won her first tournament in 1969 at the U.S. Women's Open. She is one of 14 players to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA victory. She would repeat as champion in 1970. Only Mickey Wright had ever won back-to-back U.S. Women's Opens before Caponi, who also matched Wright's 72-hole scoring record of 287. She would go on to win a total of 24 events on the LPGA Tour, including four major championships.

Caponi was named Female Player of the Year by Golf Writers Association of America in 1981. 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 retired from full-time competition in 1988. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2009, she was the recipient of the PGA First Lady of Golf Award.

She is currently an announcer on the Golf Channel, covering the Champions Tour.

Personal life

From 1971 to 1981, Caponi was married to Ken Young and was known as Donna Caponi Young. After her divorce in 1981, she changed her name back to Donna Caponi. She married her longtime boyfriend Edward "Ted" Byrnes on July 29, 2006, and changed her name to Donna Caponi-Byrnes.

Professional wins (29)

LPGA Tour wins (24)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (4)
Other LPGA Tour (20)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 29, 1969	U.S. Women's Open	+2 (74-75-76-69=294)	1 stroke	Peggy Wilson
2	Sep 21, 1969	Lincoln-Mercury Open	−2 (74-68-72=214)	Playoff	Kathy Whitworth
3	May 24, 1970	Bluegrass Invitational	−2 (72-70-72=214)	1 stroke	Mary Mills
4	Jul 5, 1970	U.S. Women's Open	+3 (69-70-71-77=287)	1 stroke	Sandra Haynie Sandra Spuzich
5	May 20, 1973	Bluegrass Invitational	−3 (72-72-72=216)	2 strokes	Sandra Spuzich
6	Feb 2, 1975	Burdine's Invitational	−8 (70-71-67=208)	3 strokes	Kathy Cornelius
7	May 11, 1975	Lady Tara Classic	−5 (72-70-72=214)	1 stroke	Gloria Ehret Sandra Post
8	Jun 13, 1976	Peter Jackson Classic	−4 (72-73-67=212)	Playoff	Judy Rankin
9	Sep 19, 1976	Portland Classic	−2 (72-71-74=217)	Playoff	Clifford Ann Creed
10	Sep 26, 1976	The Carlton	−6 (69-69-72-72=282)	5 strokes	Jane Blalock Judy Rankin
11	Nov 3, 1976	LPGA/Japan Mizuno Classic	−5 (74-71-72=217)	4 strokes	Chako Higuchi
12	Sep 17, 1978	The Sarah Coventry	−10 (72-71-68-71=282)	5 strokes	Jane Blalock
13	Oct 22, 1978	Houston Exchange Clubs Classic	−9 (70-68-69=207)	3 strokes	Alexandra Reinhardt
14	Jun 10, 1979	LPGA Championship	−9 (69-70-70-70=279)	3 strokes	Jerilyn Britz
15	Mar 23, 1980	LPGA National Pro-Am	−2 (71-74-71-70=286)	1 stroke	Nancy Lopez
16	Apr 6, 1980	Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle	−13 (71-67-66-71=275)	2 strokes	Amy Alcott
17	May 25, 1980	Corning Classic	−7 (66-72-69-74=281)	2 strokes	Myra Blackwelder
18	Sep 14, 1980	United Virginia Bank Classic	−11 (70-67-66-74=277)	4 strokes	Nancy Lopez
19	Sep 21, 1980	ERA Real Estate Classic	−9 (75-68-71-69=283)	5 strokes	Shelley Hamlin
20	Mar 22, 1981	LPGA Desert Inn Pro-Am	−3 (74-75-69-68=286)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley
21	Apr 12, 1981	American Defender/WRAL Golf Classic	−8 (71-65-72=208)	1 stroke	Cathy Sherk
22	Jun 14, 1981	LPGA Championship	−8 (69-68-70-73=280)	1 stroke	Jerilyn Britz Pat Meyers
23	Jul 19, 1981	WUI Classic	−6 (71-69-69-73=282)	2 strokes	Julie Pyne
24	Aug 2, 1981	Boston Five Classic	−12 (69-68-68-71=276)	6 strokes	Jan Stephenson

Note: Caponi won the Peter Jackson Classic (which became the du Maurier Classic) and the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) before they became major championships.

LPGA Tour playoff record (3–5)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1969	Lincoln-Mercury Open	Kathy Whitworth	Won with par on first extra hole
2	1974	Lady Tara Classic	Sandra Spuzich Kathy Whitworth	Spuzich won with par on fifth extra hole Whitworth eliminated by par on third hole
3	1976	Peter Jackson Classic	Judy Rankin	Won with par on first extra hole
4	1976	Portland Classic	Clifford Ann Creed	Won with birdie on second extra hole
5	1979	Women's Kemper Open	JoAnne Carner Chako Higuchi Nancy Lopez Jan Stephenson	Carner won with par on second extra hole Caponi, Lopez, and Stephenson eliminated by par on first hole
6	1980	West Virginia LPGA Classic	Sandra Post	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
7	1981	Florida Lady Citrus	Beth Daniel Cindy Hill Patti Rizzo Patty Sheehan	Daniel won with birdie on second extra hole Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
8	1981	Inamori Classic	Amy Alcott Hollis Stacy Jan Stephenson	Stacy won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

• 1975 Colgate European Open
• 1976 Wills Qantas Australian Ladies Open
• 1978 Ping Classic Team Championship (with Kathy Whitworth)
• 1980 Portland Ping Team Championship (with Kathy Whitworth)
• 1981 Portland Ping Team Championship (with Kathy Whitworth)

Major championships

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1969	U.S. Women's Open	+2 (74-76-75-69=294)	1 stroke	Peggy Wilson
1970	U.S. Women's Open	+3 (69-70-71-77=287)	1 stroke	Sandra Haynie, Sandra Spuzich
1979	LPGA Championship	−9 (69-70-70-70=279)	3 strokes	Jerilyn Britz
1981	LPGA Championship	−8 (69-68-70-73=280)	1 stroke	Jerilyn Britz, Pat Meyers

See also

• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins

External links

• Donna Caponi at the LPGA Tour official site
• Donna Caponi at the Legends Tour official site (also at former site)
• Donna Caponi at golf.about.com at the Wayback Machine (archived February 16, 2007)