At home with a champion

Southern Living, Oct 1999 by Young, Dianne

TOUR LIFE CAN BE HECTIC FOR PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS, AND EACH ONE ENJOYS OFF TIME IN A SINGULARLY PERSONAL WAY. HERE WE VISIT AN LPGA CHAMPION AT HOME TO SEE HOW SHE SPENDS HER DAYS AWAY FROM THE TOUR.

Who doesn't know Nancy Lopez? Sports trivia buffs remember her for her phenomenal nine-win, five-in-a-row rookie season, a feat unmatched in golf before or since.

Golf purists recognize her for her distinctive swing: that funky hitch of the wrist at the start, the snow-falling-slow take-away, and the full pause at the top.

Casual fans prize her for the delight she flashes in that brilliant, billion-watt smile and the brave, sporting heart she wears so unapologetically on her sleeve.

Sure, we all know Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, but she herself will tell you that those who know her best know her now as Nancy Knight.

Married to former major leaguer and current ESPN baseball analyst Ray Knight, Nancy lives in Albany, Georgia. There, when not playing tournaments, she joyfully immerses herself in the role of wife and mother to their daughters--Ashley, Erinn, and Torri. She approaches her home life in the way she always approaches her game on course-with single-minded dedication.

Her mornings begin like most of ours-a frantic scramble to get kids up, fed, ready, and off to school. She then happily shops, cooks, and does the kid-- taxi thing, driving the endless afternoon circles between softball games, soccer practice, and the like.

After dropping the girls at their respective schools, she makes time for coffee and conversation in a comfortable suburban home brightened with family pictures and decorated with sports memorabilia. An impressive array of trophies fills the neat den's glassed-in shelves. Among them is Ray's dazzling MVP award from the 1986 World Series, when he led the Mets to their first title in 17 years, and her own 1998 Bob Jones Award for sportsmanship, one of the highest honors in golf.

Nancy answers questions thoughtfully, with humor and careful honesty. "When I'm home, I really don't miss it," she says of the women's golf tour. "When I'm here being Nancy Knight and taking care of my family, I don't even know who wins the tournaments," she adds with a slightly embarrassed grin. "I enjoy my other life-being a mom and being home."

And for Nancy that means being involved at every level. She helped organize a group of parents to build a girls' softball field for the area. She volunteered to chaperone daughter Erinn's class trip to Washington, D.C., last spring. And when a niece asked Nancy to come speak to her first-grade class, she readily agreed. "My big thing is if I say yes I want to be part of it.

Over the last couple of years she has played fewer tournaments, concentrating more on family than practice. Even so, she shot a season-low 66 in the first round at Grand Cypress last January using the new NancyLopezGolf clubs she helped design for the Arnold Palmer Golf Company. "I was so excited," she says, smiling broadly. "That proved to me that my clubs were what I wanted." Such an accomplishment reminds us all-Nancy included--the heights of which she is capable. "I realize that I can still do that, and I'm not even practicing. And that bothers me. I'm trying to motivate myself to practice every day so that when I do go out on tour I do have a chance to win.

I've always taught my kids to be their best, and you have to set your highest goal because if you don't, you're never going to be better."

Despite the demands of family, she's still committed to the game of golf, which she learned from her father, Domingo, growing up in New Mexico. While her heart clearly pulls her home, her history and the responsibility Nancy feels for the LPGA keep her on the course. Such a conflict can weigh heavy though. "I love playing golf. When I get out there, I'm fine, but I'm in the worst mood before I leave. I don't know what keeps me out there really," she muses, adding, "but I love the LPGA tour, and I still want to help it as long as I can."

She doesn't want to become a player who has stayed too long, but she fervently believes she carries a couple more wins in her bag. And should you ask her what she'll miss the most when she does quit professional golf, her answer reflects surprising emotion. "I get sad when I think about retiring," she confesses through unexpected tears. "My high point would be all the wonderful people that I've met and how kind people were. The fans, the support that they gave me through my divorce, that they gave me on the golf course when I wasn't playing well. The big thing now is hoping that people remember who I am. I want to be remembered not just as a great golfer but as a good person."

Husband Ray Knight knows Nancy has already scored on both counts. When they married in the early 1980s-the second for both-they understood that it wouldn't be easy raising a family while excelling in sports. "In any marriage the challenges are great, but in our marriage they have been immense," says Ray. "The reason the marriage has worked is because there is so much give and take. But from the first time I met Nancy," he remembers, "immediately we understood each other. Nancy and I have the same desires. We have real strong feelings for family and commitment."