BY MICHAEL DANN: Special to The Pilot

Back in 1977, the drive to Hazeltine National Golf Club outside Minneapolis took one past a giant green statue — literally, the Jolly Green Giant. This vegetable icon was an ironic reminder of the U.S. Open — not the Women’s Open played seven years earlier.

That year, Dave Hill, who finished second in the Open, referred to Hazeltine National as a cow pasture. The club membership made several positive changes to the course before the ‘77 Women’s Open, but there was that odd reminder of the potential agricultural use of this land just down the road.

This Women’s Open also signaled a change in the star structure within the LPGA; and the chief protagonists, Hollis Stacy and Nancy Lopez, were USGA darlings.

Stacy won the U.S. Girls’ Junior in ‘69, ‘70 and ‘71. Lopez took the same title in ‘72 and ‘74. (Further ties between the Women’s Open and the Girls’ Junior championship would make themselves evident.)

Amy Alcott, Jan Stephenson, Pat Bradley and Sally Little were additional stars who would benefit from tremendous growth the LPGA would enjoy through the late 1970s. As the LPGA tour grew in tournaments, prize money, television exposure and stature, so did the U.S. Women’s Open.

For winning the 1971 U.S. Open, JoAnne Carner won $5,000. In 1980, Alcott won more than $20,000 for first place. (Compare that with the $520,000 first prize for this year’s champion out of a total purse of $2.9 million.)

Stacy won three U.S. Open titles in an eight-year period while Lopez won everyone’s heart, other major titles, many tour titles and a pile of money.

But never the Women’s Open, not yet. She has had four second-place finishes in this championship, one as recently as 1997, but not a victory.

Nancy first gained attention in this championship in 1975 as a fresh-faced amateur, sharing second place, four shots behind Sandra Palmer but in good company, sharing second with the veteran Carner.

The 1977 Women’s Open was Nancy’s first event as a professional, leaving the University of Tulsa in her sophomore year. Hollis was playing her fourth year for money.

Stacy opened with a two-under-par 70, the only round under par that day. The group at par 72 included Stephenson, Jane Blalock, Joyce Kazmierski and Alcott (who won the 1973 U.S. Girls’ Junior).

Stacy held her lead with a second-round 73. At one under par, she was two ahead of Lopez, who shot 73-72.

Carner, nicknamed Big Momma by the younger players, was a generation older than the budding stars but also was a multiple-time USGA champion. Carner won the1956 U.S. Girls’ Junior title and five U.S. Women’s Amateur titles. She already had won two U.S. Women’s Opens, including the 1976 championship.

Stacy was never more vulnerable than in the third round, when she shot 75 for 218. Stephenson shot 72 to pull to within one shot. Lopez matched Stacy shot by shot through the day to remain two behind. Carner lost one shot to these leaders.

One of the trademarks of a championship course is its propensity to allow the stars of the game to shine. Hazeltine National had humbled and embarrassed the best players on the men’s side in 1970, but the recent course changes clearly were for the better as the best of the LPGA rose to the top.

Stacy and Lopez traded shot for shot in the last round, and Hollis won by two shots with 74 for 292. Carner shot 73 to pull to within three shots and took third place. Stephenson, Alcott and Bradley shared fourth place.

Stacy and Carner had another battle for the Women’s Open in 1978, sharing the lead at the halfway point. Stacy won by one shot over Carner and Little and became only the fourth person to win back-to-back Women’s Opens.

At that point, she held five USGA crowns. Only Bobby Jones (nine), Carner (eight) and Glenna Collett Vare (six) owned more USGA gold medals.

Lopez went on to an amazing career, rocketing to the top in 1978. In her first complete season on tour, she won Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, a feat not accomplished before that.

Lopez won nine tournaments that year (out of 25 played) and five in a row. After a week off, she returned to win two more in a row, including her first major title, the LPGA Championship - by six shots.

She set a single-season money record. She won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on tour and set a record there too, the first player to average under 72 strokes per round all year. The LPGA tour took off with record purses and tournaments.

Even a three-time U.S. Open champion like Stacy could appreciate the talents of the woman she defeated for the 1978 Open title.