Dayna Benson

Miss Dayna Benson, 17, of Anaheim, Calif., won the Championship from Miss Kyle O'Brien, of Indianapolis, with a remarkable shot. With the match even, Miss O'Brien was on the final green at the Dedham (Mass.) Country and Polo Club in three.

Miss Benson, meanwhile, had played her third shot over the green into a flower bed. Under a Local Rule adopted expressly for the Championship, however, the flower bed was designated ground under repair and Miss Benson was allowed to drop her ball without penalty outside the flower bed. Even with relief Miss Benson was left with a difficult shot over a slope to the hole cut at the back of the green.

When Miss Benson played the shot she seemed to hit it too hard and the ball appeared certain to roll well past the hole. Instead the ball hit the flagstick and dropped into the hole for a birdie 4 that won the hole and the match.

The Championship was plagued by bad weather. One day was lost completely to the rain, with the result that the quarter-final and semi-final rounds were played on the same day in the rain. There were 113 entrants and of the 32 who qualified for match play, six were from California, four reached the quarter-finals and three were in the semi-final round.

Miss Benson was co-medalist with Beverley Davis, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Lauren Howe, from Colorado Springs, Colo., runner-up to Nancy Lopez in the 1974 Championship.