Lori Castillo, 19, of Honolulu, Hawaii, won her second consecutive Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, defeating Pamela Miller, 21, of Libertyville, Illionois, 2 and 1, in the final. The Championship was played at the Center Square Golf Club, in Center Square, Pennsylvania. For Miss Castillo, the 1978 Girls' Junior Champion, it was her third USGA title. In winning, Miss Castillo not only won the qualifying medal, but also equalled or broke all the existing records. All 120 starters played 36 holes to determine the 32 competitors in match play.

Miss Castillo followed her first round 77 with a one under par 71, establishing a new single round scoring record. Her two-day total of 148 also established the 36-hole record. After 36 holes of stroke play, 32 players were at 163 or better, the lowest cutoff score since the championship was started in 1977. Miss Castillo never trailed in any match, losing only six holes in 72 holes of match play. She won her first matches by a margin of 26 holes. In her first two matches she didn't lose a hole, winning by 7 and 6 and by 9 and 7, a WAPL record for the largest winning margin in one match.

In the final match, both Miss Castillo and Miss Miller were excellent from tee to green, and even though they each had many birdie chances, the only birdie on the front nine was by Miss Castillo on the fourth hole from six feet. Miss Castillo made the nine-hole turn in par 36 and Miss Miller in 38. Miss Castillo opened a two-hole lead at the 11th, but Miss Miller won the 12th. At the 13th, Miss Castillo went two up again, and when they halved the next three holes, Miss Casteillo stood dormie two playing the 17th. They halved in par to end the match. Miss Castillo was one over par, Miss Miller five over.

For the second consecutie year, a team from the Chicoago area wont the Team Championship with a record tying score of 459, 15 strokes ahead of Dayton, Ohio at 474. The members of the winning team were Pamela Miller, Alicia Ogrin, and Penny Hammel. The USGA received a record 728 entries, surpassing the previous high of 695 in 1979.