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

Golf Digest, Oct, 2002 by Jim Moriarty

THE `FLU BUG'

Donna Caponi

Nancy and I roomed together on tour for many years. One night I arrived at our hotel in Tucson about 10 o'clock, and Nancy was still up. When I walked in she said, "I'm so sick. I've got the flu bug. Maybe you ought to get another room so you don't get sick." I said, "No, no." There's nothing worse than being in a hotel by yourself when you're sick as a dog. She was up all night, kept throwing up. Then she withdrew from the pro-am and stayed in bed. Periodically we'd check on her. She'd have soup and stuff. That night I asked her how she felt, and she said she wanted something cold like ice cream or something. The next morning she was still really, really sick and withdrew from the tournament. After she got home, she called and said, "Guess what? I'm pregnant."

THE PLAYER AND THE MOM

Debbie Harmon, 2002 Futures Tour player

I was a conditional player on tour in 2000, so when I called the tournament office at the Giant Eagle Classic to get my tee time I expected to be paired with other rookies. They told me my tee time and started to chuckle. "You're playing with Minny Yeo and, oh, Nancy Lopez." I was like, "Oh, my ..."

My dad was caddieing, my mom was walking around, and I was playing with Nancy Lopez. A great week. We get to the tee, and she's absolutely as wonderful as a person can be. Just charming. We're standing there listening to the introduction. They're going on and on. I had tears in my eyes.

Our four-hour round turned into about a 10-hour day spent with her, because we went through two rain delays. I was looking around at all these people, and I'm out here playing golf with her. It doesn't get any better than that.

We got to one hole on the front nine, and after a pretty good drive, she bounces her second shot into the water right of the green. The whole crowd was up on the left, and we were way down here, and I heard her let out this, "Damn it, Nancy!" I was like, She swears and everything! Then she apologized to me for swearing, and I thought, "How cool is this?" I said, "It's OK. To be honest with you, I've said it a few times myself."

We went through one of the rain delays, and one of her daughters was there. We got thrown into a van together. And it was really neat, because then I saw the mom side of her, which is totally different from the golf side of her. She was just so excited to have her daughter there. She was hugging her and talking and giggling about stuff and playing with her hair. She was just "the mom." This person is all these things, and she's good at all of them.

A COMMISSIONER'S EDUCATION

Ty Votaw

After I was named commissioner, Nancy said, "Ty, I've seen and worked with and observed every commissioner who has ever been on the LPGA Tour." There have been other titles, but from Ray Volpe on, she's been there for every one. She said, "I have certain opinions that, if you think it would be helpful for me to share with you, I'd be happy to do so."

Being the modestly intelligent person I am, I felt it'd be foolish if I didn't take her up on such a gracious offer. She sat me down and we talked. She said--and I think she's right-that in her mind the commissioner is simply the slipcover to a book that is the LPGA. The commissioner doesn't embody anything other than, in many cases, people's first impressions--on the business side--of the LPGA. Her advice to me was to always be mindful of that, to always try to make a good first impression, to always be an attractive slipcover to the book. If they're drawn to the slipcover and they open up the book, she said, the pages of the LPGA are rich and diverse and dynamic and compelling. She used all those words.