Miss Jerilyn Britz, 36, of Luverne, Minn., won the Women's Open Championship at the Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, Conn., with a score of 284, even par, the lowest 72-hole total since the USGA assumed sponsorship of the Championship in 1953. Miss Britz had rounds of 70-70-75-69.

Debbie Massey and Sandra Palmer, the 1975 Champion, tied for second place at 286. Miss Britz and Miss Massey were the first-round co-leaders with rounds of 70, one under par. Six players were a stroke behind at 71. Among them were Hollis Stacy, Sally Little, former Champion Sandra Spuzich, Jane Blalock, Pam Higgins and Cathy Morse. Miss Palmer was three strokes behind at 73.

In the second round, Miss Britz shot another 70 for a total of 140, two under par. Two strokes back at even par 142 were Miss Massey who shot 72, Miss Palmer, who moved into contention with 69, and Miss Little, who added a second 71. Susie Berning had a second-round 66, five-under-par, the lowest round in the 1979 Championship, one stroke above the Women's Open record of 65, set by Miss Little in 1978.

In the third round, Miss Britz had a 75 that dropped her into second place at 215, three strokes behind Miss Massey, who had 70 for a 54-hole total of 212, one under par. Tied for third place, at 216, four strokes back, were Miss Palmer and Miss Little, both with 74s, and Mrs. Berning with a 71.

In the final round, Miss Massey lost two strokes to par on both the sixth and seventh holes and eventually finished the first nine in 41. Meanwhile, Miss Little and Miss Britz had scores of 34 and 35, respectively, and were tied for the lead at one over par. Miss Britz bogeyed the 12th hole, but she birdied the 11th and 14th and parred the rest to finish at even par. Miss Massey birdied the 12th hole to go three over par.

After playing the 13th and 14th holes in par, she ran in consecutive birdie putts from 15 feet on the 15th, 30 feet on the 16th, and six feet on the 17th. She was then tied with Miss Britz with one hole to play. Miss Massey's final drive rolled into a very narrow divot hole on the left edge of the fairway. She punched a 4-iron shot short of the green, her pitch shot ran 10 feet above the hole, and she three-putted for a 6. Miss Britz, meanwhile, played the hole routinely and two-putted from 15 feet for a par 4 to win the Championship.

A Women's Open attendance four-day record of 41,200 was set. Fifty-three professionals and three amateurs made the 36-hole cut at 152, 10 over par. Terri Moody was the low amateur with a 297 total. The Championship established new records for number of entries and for prize money. There were 335 entries, exceeding the previous high of 297 in 1978. A total of $125,000 in prize money was awarded.