One to remember

Southern Living, Oct 2000 by Young, Dianne

No one predicted last year's wild finish at the AFLAC Champions tournament presented by Southern Living. From the start, the golf scribes and sports pundits anticipated a two-player race. And why not? One look at the year's statistics explained the tunnel vision.

Coming into the Mobile event, Australian Karrie Webb had won six tournaments, one of which was a major. Californian Juli Inkster had taken five titles, among them two majors including the U.S. Women's Open, securing her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame. Just a hair over a half-stroke separated the two's scoring averages. With Karrie leading Juli by a mere 33 points in the battle for LPGA Rolex Player of the Year, the 30 points awarded to the winner of this tournament certainly upped the ante for both.

Still, the AFLAC Champions is no regular weekly event. Held every October, the four-day tournament boasts one of the tour's strongest fields. Limited to LPGA winners from the preceding three years and active Hall of Famers, it annually features the biggest names in women's golf.

Last year's roster included veterans such as Nancy Lopez, JoAnne Carner, Patty Sheehan, and Beth Daniel. Talented young golfers, such as Pearl Sinn and Kelli Kuehne, played alongside the likes of stars Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies. In fact, the 45 players slated to tee it up on Thursday combined for a total of 452 LPGA Tour wins.

Add to the stiff competition the fact that The Crossings, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., is exactly what Mark Twain meant when he described a round of golf as "a good walk spoiled." Part of Alabama's celebrated Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the par-72 course at Magnolia Grove had hosted the Nike Tour Championship the year before, earning a reputation for demanding tee shots, hazard-plagued fairways, and fiercely undulating greens. Laura Davies summed it up best when she quipped, "I guess I'm going to have to go down to the Crazy Golf and practice tonight."

Karrie Webb held up her part. She used laser-sharp approach shots to meet first-day expectations, playing into the lead with a 66 to tie the tournament record. At day's end, though, it was Texan Cindy Figg-Carrier, not Juli Inkster, who stood one stroke behind. The best Juli could do was post even par, while another Texan, Wendy Ward, carded a 69 and a group of four others came in at 70.

With a leader board bearing the names of Hall of Famers Betsy King and Pat Bradley, along with the sensational South Korean Se Ri Pak, Friday promised some serious scoring... and it delivered in aces-literally. While Karrie backed up with a 74 and Cindy treaded water with a 71, Swede Maria Hjorth, the last player to qualify for the AFLAC Champions, swept to the top courtesy of a tournament--,and course-- record 64. Celebrating her 26th birthday that day, she shot one of the best rounds of her life, including an eagle on No. 4 and her first-ever hole-in-one on the par-3 14th.

Ask any of these players, though, and they'll tell you that no lead is safe on a Robert Trent Jones course. That's what makes tournaments here such a treat for spectators. Cindy was still a mere three strokes behind, with Karrie and long-- hitting Laura Davies tied for third at five back. "This is a momentum golf course," observed Karrie. "If you get it going early, you can have a really good score."

On Saturday Maria's up-and-down round of even par kept her three-stroke lead intact, but more and more players were drawing close, shooting themselves into contention. Karrie and Laura climbed into a tie for second with Cindy, as did Chris Johnson, whose 69 earned the tall, quiet Arizonan a slot in Sunday's final pairing with Maria.

By late Sunday afternoon, as a hot wind brushed through the pines, it was natural to concentrate mostly on Karrie Webb and Laura Davies or to be distracted by the determined charge of 1998 winner Kelly Robbins. It was tempting to consider the fourth round a match-play event, with Maria and Chris trading the lead back and forth on their final nine.

It was just too easy to overlook Akiko Fukushima, even if her name had been hovering in the middle of the leader board since an opening round of 71. But as Maria and Chris left No. 13 tied for the lead at 8 under par, a roar-the kind that goes up only for an eagle-thundered across the course. The 26-year-old rookie from Japan, coming from four back, had holed a 24-foot putt over a diabolical mound on the 16th green to seize the lead at 9 under.

The drama didn't end there though. As Chris faltered, Maria birdied No. 16 to tie the new leader. The Swede came to the 18th, aptly nicknamed "The Terminator," knowing she had to par to force a play-off. Her errant drive veered into the rough, and her approach shot landed a scant inch or two short of perfection. Rolling back down to the green's lower tier, the ball stopped 80 feet below the pin.

Faced with the exact same, nearly impossible two putt that Akiko had successfully negotiated minutes before, Maria left herself a 5-footer for the tie. When her ball ducked by the edge of the cup, the crowd's groan told it all. Akiko Fukushima, who had held the lead for a mere three holes, had bested Maria and Karrie by a single stroke, turning last year's AFLAC Champions into one to remember.