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

Golf Digest, Oct, 2002 by Jim Moriarty

The first time I played with Nancy was also the first tournament I had a chance to win, so I had this double thing going on. It was at Inverrary, and we were in the second-to-last group. She had this enormous gallery, and I was a nervous wreck. She was more concerned about how nervous I was and trying to make me feel better. It was one of the most unselfish things I'd ever seen anybody do.

THE PR STORM

Chip Campbell, former director of public relations, LPGA Tour

This is how much I underestimated Nancy's appeal. She had won five in a row as a rookie, and the LPGA Tour was in Pennsylvania for the Hershey. Jeff Adams [PR coordinator] called me and said, "This is going to be big. We need to have a news conference."

I said, "Set it up for Tuesday. I'll come up, do the news conference and go home." It ended up being such a mob scene, such a madhouse, I didn't leave until Sunday night. Each day that week I had to buy a shirt, socks and underwear.

COMPOSURE ON A BAD DAY

Charlie Mechem, former LPGA commissioner

Nancy was having a bad day. She had just three-putted a green where she at least should have two-putted, and as she came walking off someone thrust--and I mean thrust--a program or picture or something right in her face and said, "Sign this for Tammy." Just like that. Nancy stopped for a minute and sort of digested the situation. All she said was, "Is that spelled with a `y' or an `ie'?"

NANCY VS. MICKEY

Ruffin Beckwith, World Golf Foundation

At a tournament in New Jersey in 1979 Nancy won a five-player playoff that included Mickey Wright. It must have been one of Mickey's last LPGA competitions.

The press tent that Sunday afternoon looked like a U.S. Open--a couple hundred people, lots of camera crews. Both players exhibited such respect for each other, but you could also sense the competitiveness, that they both wanted to win, and that one was pleased that she had and the other was disappointed that she hadn't.

Everyone there recognized that they were part of a very special occasion, and you can make the case now that it was the one truly competitive moment between two of the greatest women players ever.

DON'T GET NANCY MAD

JoAnne Carner

For about two years, whenever I played with Nancy the press was always trying to get a feud going. It never really took hold, because we always enjoyed playing with each other.

Then somewhere I had a lead going into the last round, and just joking around I said something like, "I'll lap her," or "I'll run circles around her," or something like that. Well, when it came out in the papers, it didn't have any humor to it at all. The next morning the caddies were reading the story to her at breakfast.

My two-shot lead went right down the tubes--and I shot 68. I decided right then I would never get Nancy mad again.

THE FIRE WITHIN

Annika Sorenstam

I'll never forget the time I played with her in Canada. We were on a par 4, and she had about a 5-iron to the green. She hit the shot and said, "Go in!" The ball had just left the clubface. I looked at her and thought, "That's pretty good--she's hoping she'll make it from 180 yards." It was the kind of thing you might say once the ball landed on the green and began rolling toward the hole. But this thing had just left the clubface. That's how competitive she was. You don't really hear that about her.