Daniels, the first-round leader, used an eagle 2 on the par-4 No. 2 hole for some early breathing room on a rainy afternoon and went on to edge Grace Park, Heather Bowie and Tina Fischer by one stroke for the first-place prize of $5,300 in the $40,000 tournament at the Country Club of Salisbury.

‘‘That got me pumped up,’’ said the 27-year-old Stanford University graduate from Lodi, Calif.

Her sand wedge shot from about 75 yards landed one foot past the pin, then spun back into the cup.

‘‘I thought it was going to be really close, but then it actually trickled back in, so I was pretty excited about that,’’ she said.

Daniels, No. 5 on the tour’s money winnings list coming into the tournament, jumped to No. 3 with $21,218. She passed Elizabeth Bowman ($20,396) and Jane Egan ($18,863). The top three on the tour earn automatic LPGA berths for the 2000 season.

After Daniels made her eagle on No. 2, playing partners Park and Bowie made birdies – the lowest combined score ever on that hole in tournament history, according to chairman Jim Hurley. Daniels left that hole 6 under par for the tournament, two strokes up on Park and one ahead of Bowie.

Park, aided by a birdie on No. 7 and bogeys on two par-3 holes by Daniels, moved into a tie for the lead at 4 under at the end of the front nine. Daniels regained the one-stroke lead when Park bogeyed No. 10, then Daniels’ birdie on No. 11 gave her a two-stroke cushion over both Park and the steady Bowie. Fischer had already finished her round at 3 under.

‘‘Coming down the stretch, I had the birdie on 11, so I felt good about that,’’ said Daniels, who never lost her lead after that hole.

‘‘I just wasn’t making a whole lot of putts today. I played steady coming in, all pars, except for a bogey on 17.

That 17th hole was crucial for Park, who had a chance to tie Daniels with a right-to-left breaking par putt of about four feet.

‘‘That’s the only hole that I really regret, missing like a three and a half or four-footer,’’ said Park, the 1998 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and 1999 NCAA champ. ‘‘My (putting) stroke’s been off forever, and I’ve missed so many of those that I keep telling myself to be patient and not get frustrated, but it is frustrating.’’

Even though Park bogeyed the hole, Daniels thought she, Park and Bowie, who did make par, were tied for the lead. That’s because there were no leader boards on the course.

‘‘I didn’t know how we stood out there until I got on the 18th green (where there was a leader board). I had no clue. ... I thought we were probably all tied, because I had made three bogeys and i didn’t know what the other girls were doing,’’ said Daniels, pointing out that she wasn’t aware of the actual scores of Park and Bowie during the round.

‘‘I was trying not to, actually, because then I thought I might kind of get into match play, and I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted to play my own game,’’ she said. ‘‘It was a pleasant surprise to see I was one ahead.’’

With Daniels protecting that one-stroke lead on the 18th green, Bowie’s long birdie putt that could have tied the leader came up short, and Park’s makeable birdie putt for a possible tie missed the hole. Daniels calmly made her par by two-putting from the back right fringe to win it, then hugged both her opponents.

Daniels’ first tour victory came in the Southwestern Bell Futures Classic, in which she finished with a 4-under-par 212 score for 54 holes and won $6,390. This time, she had a 4-under 138 for 36 holes.

‘‘I was probably a little more nervous in this one, for some reason,’’ said Daniels. I think it was because I didn’t know how I stood a whole lot until the 18th green. I think the most nervous I was was on No. 1, then I calmed down after that.’’

Daniels had 14 pars and four birdies in her opening round, then an eagle, a birdie, 13 pars and three bogeys – all on par-3s – on Friday.

‘‘I don’t know what happened on the par-3s. I just didn’t hit good iron shots in. I can’t complain, I mean those were my only bogeys of the day, so I’m not too unhappy,’’ she said.

She hit nine fairways and 13 greens while taking 31 putts. She had hit 13 fairways and 16 greens while using 30 putts on Thursday.

Park, from Phoenix, Ariz., Bowie, from Edmond, Okla., and Fischer, from Bad Nauheim, Germany, wound up at 139, winning $3,300 each. Park and Bowie, like Daniels, matched par of 71 in the final round, while Fischer posted a 69, making her the only golfer in the top four to break par both days.

Park, who came in bidding for her second straight victory in her third pro tourney, was also bothered because there was no leader board.

‘‘I wish I could have known better how all of us were standing, the other groups also,’’ said the Korean native, who left that country as a 12-year-old to play golf in the United States. ‘‘All day, I was just very laid back. All week, I was maybe too relaxed. Even coming in the last few holes, I wasn’t even nervous. I didn’t feel anything, which is unusual, because you’re supposed to feel something, some kind of nervousness or something. It was one of those weeks, I guess.’’

She added, ‘‘Playing in the last group, I knew that if I played decent, I could putt it out, but Melinda played well and Heather played well. I hung in there, but it could have been better, I think. I’m definitely looking forward to the next tournament. I hope the putts will fall and I’ll do better.’’

Bowie, who matched her best finish on the tour, made a strong bid to win, especially at the start of the back nine, but her medium-range and short birdie putts just wouldn’t fall.

‘‘I hit the ball solid,’’ said the four-time NCAA All-American – three times at Arizona State and once at Texas. ‘‘I had a lot of opportunities. That’s what I wanted to do, hit it close. I think I had five of them inside 15 feet on the back and made only one, so I gave myself the opportunities.’’

Bowie, however, had no regrets.

‘‘I don’t feel like I lost the golf tournament at all. I feel like Melinda won it. You can’t really be that upset with yourself. I definitely could have made some more putts, but I’m pretty happy,’’ she said.

Other golfers breaking par for the tournament were Lee Ann Walker, Stephanie Sparks, Michelle Ellis, Joellyn Erdmann, Audra Burks and Cecilia Hedlund, who had 140s and shared fifth place, and Janice Littlefield, who finished at 141 for 11th.