Donna Horton

Miss Donna Horton, of Jacksonville, Fla., defeated Miss Marianne Bretton, from San Diego, Calif., 2 and 1, in the 36-hole final at the Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif. Miss Horton reached the semifinals in 1973 and was runner-up in 1975, while Miss Bretton was appearing in her first Women's Amateur Championship.

Miss Beth Daniel, of Charleston, S.C., the 1975 Champion, was medalist with two-under-par 70, which tied the 18-hole qualifying record set by Miss Debbie Massey in 1974. Miss Daniel was eliminated in the first round by Miss Dale Shaw, of Sidney, British Columbia, Canada.

The losing semifinalists were Miss Rise Alexander, of Gresham, Ore., and Miss Pat Cornett, from Salinas, Calif. On her way to the final, Miss Bretton defeated former Women's Amateur Champions Miss Carol Semple and Miss Mary Budke.

In the final round Miss Bretton won the first two holes and was 3-up at the end of nine. The match turned around on the second nine where Miss Bretton had six bogies, four in succession on holes 15 through 18. The morning round ended with the match even.

In the afternoon, Miss Bretton began with another birdie on the first hole, to take the lead, 1-up, and she was still 1-up after 10 holes. Miss Horton then won the 11th with a par to pull even and holed a 10-foot putt for a birdie on the 13th to go ahead for the first time in the match.

She added another hole to her lead with a par on the 15th and led 2-up with three holes to play. Both women scored pars on the 16th, and the match ended when they both scored 6 on the 17th hole, a par 4. There were 157 entries, the highest number since 1958. The Championship was previously played at the Del Paso Country Club in 1957.