Thanks, Nancy: sharing memories of Lopez' 25-year career

Golf Digest, Oct, 2002 by Jim Moriarty

There was the smile. And there was the game, too. The moment Nancy Lopez stepped onto a golf course, she jumped right into our hearts. She was the little girl from New Mexico with the smiling eyes, fearless and joyful in the same instant. As an ambassador of golf, only Arnold Palmer is her equal.

Now in her 25th season on the LPGA Tour, Lopez is winding down her Hall of Fame career. We'll remember the five consecutive victories as a rookie. The 48 tournament titles, four player-of-the-year awards and three majors. And the heartbreak of never winning a U.S. Open, including a gut-wrenching duel with Alison Nicholas. But the impact Nancy Lopez has had on golf can't be measured by birdies and bogeys. It can only be told through the fondest memories of people she met along the way.

IDENTIFYING THE `IT' GIRL

Mickey Wright

I had the pleasure of playing with Nancy in 1977, just before she turned pro. We were paired in the first round of the Women's International at Moss Creek in Hilton Head. She shot 80, and to most people it was an uninspired performance. But I came in raving about her to anyone who would listen. Her calm demeanor, emotional control and tenacity screamed out to me that she would be something special. I told my friends that she definitely had "it," whatever "it" is. Sure enough, it didn't take her long to prove me right.

`SHE'S NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT'

Jan Stephenson

After Nancy turned pro, the IMG people hired about 12 players to do a pro-am and clinic and said to me, "Oh, good. You're a real student of the game-we want to see what you think about this girl's swing, because everyone says she's going to be a superstar."

Nancy got up there in the clinic and she was hitting these big duck hooks, and I told everyone, "Well, she's short and she's across the line, and she's never going to make it."

They've never let me forget that.

A SWING (AND SOME BEER) TO SAVOR

Lee Trevino

I was living in El Paso when Nancy was a hotshot 12-year-old amateur--she won the New Mexico Women's Amateur Championship when she was 12. I remember her father, Domingo, bringing her over to El Paso and I watched her hit some golf balls. I told her father, "Don't do anything. Everything I can see is going to work."

The only help I ever gave Nancy was when she was going to the University of Tulsa and I bought her some beer when she was underage. We were there playing in an exhibition, and she and her girlfriends came out. And she says to me, "Could you get us some beer at the 7-Eleven before you leave?" I said, "Yeah, come on girls." I put them all in the car and bought two six-packs for them.

SMILING THROUGH THE TEARS

Dale McNamara, former women's golf coach, University of Tulsa

We were playing in a tournament at Furman, and it was the morning of the final round. We were behind by a couple of shots, and everybody was in the van except Nancy, which was unusual because Nancy was always on time. Here she comes down the stairs, tears streaming from her eyes. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she had just gotten into an argument on the phone with her boyfriend back in Tulsa.

All the way to the golf course, she's sniffling, and I'm thinking, We've got a real problem here. Well, the next thing I know, we get to the course, the tears stop, she shoots 70 and we win by two shots. She walks off the 18th green, smiling, talks to everyone she needs to talk to, thanks everyone she needs to thank, then goes off by herself and starts crying again.

The first time I ever laid eyes on Nancy, though, was on a recruiting visit. What I remember most is that I never saw anyone so happy. When we got to her house, to see that family interact was just fabulous. I'll never forget the love in their eyes for one another. The honesty that was there. There was an aura, and everything was perfect. We're sitting on the floor, going through her scrapbook, and I'm looking around me and all I can think is, "I've got to go home and wash my windows."

A COLLEGE RIVALRY

Beth Daniel

In college a whole bunch of teams got together and toilet-papered and soaped Tulsa's van. Nancy came out in the middle of the night and started yelling, "Who did that? Beth Daniel, where are you? I know you did that." I said, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me." But she always blamed it on me, totally. She still does.

PLAYING FOR BIG BUCKS

Jo Ann Washam

Nancy and I played practice rounds together all the time. We never played for anything. One day Beth Daniel and JoAnne Carner said, "We'll take on you and Nancy." I said, "OK." Nancy wasn't included in this conversation, just me. So we play this practice round, and at one point Nancy says, "What are we playing for?" And I said, "Never mind, Nancy." Beth had been in New York all night and JoAnne was late getting into town. They happened to have a bad day, and we got lucky. When it was over we each made like $145. I handed Nancy the money, and she said, "Don't you ever do this again. I don't want to play for this kind of money."

SELLING HOT DOGS

Cindy Rarick

I remember being paired with Nancy and Kathy Whitworth in Rochester, N.Y. Now, Rochester absolutely loves Nancy, but the people also love Kathy. We were all the way out on the golf course when a huge storm hit, a serious downpour followed by a delay of play. Instead of coming in, we decided to find some shelter at a concession stand.