Nancy Lopez, without question, has been the dominant player on the
LPGA Tour in the last decade. During that time, she has won more tournaments (39
and counting) and more money ($2,200,000 – plus and counting) than any other
player on the tour.
During that period, she has also been through two marriages- the
second to major league baseball player Ray Knight – and a divorce and has given
birth to two girls. She has won consistently despite taking off due to
pregnancy. This past year, she became a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, the
most elite hall in the sportsdom because of the criteria of selection (Honorees
must win at least 35 tournaments and at least one major, or 40 tournaments
exclusive of a major).
But through the hills and the valleys, she has remained
essentially the same person she was when she first came on the tour, an
unspoiled, unselfish, highly dedicated and motivated individual – a lady in the
ultimate sense, sensitive and feminine. Yet she is enthusiastically competitive
and has adroitly handled the delicate balance between wife, motherhood and fame.
The following is a candid conversation with Nancy Lopez about her
life on and off the course.
You’ve accomplished so much in so little time. What were your
aspirations when you came onto the LPGA tour and what about the future?
I’m definitely a goal-setter. It motivates me to try to set up
goals and to try to reach them. I think I’ve done pretty well so far. One of my
first goals was to reach $100,000 in earnings in a year. When I won the four
tournaments in a row, I wanted five. I wanted to set a scoring record for the
season. And when I realized I had a chance to get into the Hall of Fame, I
wanted that. Obviously, I also would like to win an Open. I’ve had my chances. I
would like to win one before I quit.
You’ve won more tournaments than any other woman, or anyone on any
of the American pro tours, over the last 10 years. When you think tournament,
what comes to mind?
The time when I won my fifth tournament in a row (at the Bankers
Trust Classic in 1978, her first full season). I was trying to beat the record
of four in a row, so there was a lot of pressure on me. I also hit a man in the
head in that tournament. I honestly thought about quitting, because I thought I
had killed him.
Many of the golf courses being built today are putting a premium
on length. Thus, it makes it more difficult for the higher handicap player. What
is your opinion of the newer courses?
It does seem that most of the courses are built with the pro
player in mind. They forget who supports golf. While I like to play the tough
courses, if I built a golf course, I’d build one where pros and amateurs would
enjoy it, where there were plenty of bail-out areas for the amateurs who don’t
get to play very much. I think it makes more sense to build a course that is
more suitable for the amateurs – those with higher handicaps – than pros. There
are just so many more players out there who are higher handicappers. I’ve seen
so many courses lately where the architect doesn’t seem to take this into
consideration and I think it’s wrong. Golf’s supposed to be a fun game, but it’s
not too much fun if you’re always in trouble.
