There are many reasons Nancy Lopez decided this would be her final full season on the LPGA Tour. Few, though, were more poignant than her agonizing over the death of her daughter Torri’s puppy Wednesday.
Torri, 10, took the dog, named Bear, out for a ride in a golf cart. Bear somehow fell out and was killed.
When Lopez got the news, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around Torri. She couldn’t. Instead of being at home in Albany, Ga., she was at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora, preparing for the Kellogg-Keebler Classic, which begins Friday.
Lopez turned emotional when she related the story on Thursday.
“It was tough,” Lopez said. “When you’re a mom, you want to be there when your kids are hurt. It was hard to stay here. I wanted to go home. After 25 years on tour, you realize how much you miss of your life at home.”
Lopez, 45, wants that part of her life back. That’s why she decided to embark on her farewell tour. Lopez insists she isn’t retiring. She still plans to play in selected events. However, in all likelihood, this will be her last appearance in the Chicago area.
Fans probably won’t see her best golf. Lopez has yet to make a cut this year in five tournaments. Her last title came in 1997.
If she had the desire, Lopez believes she still could perform at peak level. During Thursday’s pro-am, she almost bagged a double-eagle on the par-5 ninth hole, leaving her second shot on the lip.
However, those shots don’t come often enough for Lopez. Coaching her daughter’s softball team is among the things that cut into her practice time. Her life is too busy for the mother of three girls and wife of former major-league baseball player Ray Knight to commit completely to her game.
“I still have the shots in me, but to do it, you have to play every week,” Lopez said. “I don’t put enough pressure on my game to keep it in shape. I could play just to play, but I don’t want to do that. Once you’ve had the taste of winning, you don’t want to settle for second, third or making the cut.”
How Lopez plays doesn’t matter to her legion of fans, though.
“She’s a lot like Arnold Palmer,” said LPGA Tour Commissioner Ty Votaw. “Much like Palmer, even as her performance faded, fans still find her relevant.”
There’s a reason. The winner of 48 tournaments is arguably the most significant women’s player ever.
Ever since she exploded onto the scene in 1977, winning nine times at age 20, she has been the face of the LPGA Tour. Her success turned women’s golf into big news.
But her popularity goes beyond titles. Long before the LPGA Tour’s current attempt to sell its fans on a “fan-first” approach, Lopez practiced it on a daily basis.
“Some players think the fans are there to bother them,” Lopez said. “But they’re there to give you a pat on the back when you have a bad day. Some of the fans don’t even know anything about golf and clap at horrible shots. They are just happy to be there to watch you play golf. You have to go out there with a different attitude.”
Obviously, if the LPGA had more players like Lopez, it wouldn’t be facing its current marketing problems. Lopez, however, has set the standard so high, it may be impossible for another player to match her charisma.
“It’s tough to hear people say, `You’re going to be the next Nancy Lopez,'” said Annika Sorenstam, the current No. 1 player in the world. “Nobody can be like Nancy Lopez.”
Through it all, Lopez has remained humble. She admits to indulging herself in the perks of being a star, such as asking for a limo or a private plane. But she adds, “I always say please and thank you.”
“I’ve just tried to be myself,” Lopez said. “When I’m out there, I see myself as just as a golfer who enjoys it. Some fans come up to me and say, `I love you, Nancy Lopez.’ And I’m like, `Are they talking to me?’ I’m just an ordinary person who has tried to enjoy what’s happened to me.”
Lopez’s accomplishments in golf haven’t been ordinary. Walking away from the game as a full-time player won’t be easy.
Yet Lopez knows she has to take this step. Her father, Domingo, agreed. Just before he died in April, he told Lopez, “It’s time.”
“I felt really good about it because he watched me [struggle of late] and he knew how important family is to me,” Lopez said. “He knew my heart wasn’t into it like it was before.”
Lopez says she always has been conflicted. Ultimately, she couldn’t set aside her ability and the opportunities that stemmed from it. She is grateful that golf allowed her to take the ride of a lifetime.
But at some point, even the best players have to get off. As Lopez said, “I just realized it’s time to go home.”
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Lopez farewell tour
A look at the key numbers for Nancy Lopez, who is playing the Kellogg-Keebler Classic in Aurora as one of the 14 tournaments in her final full-time LPGA season:
Lopez’s key numbers
45: Her age. She was born Jan. 6, 1957, in Torrance, Calif. She lives now in Albany, Ga.
440: Tournaments played during her LPGA career, which officially began in 1977.
43: Cuts missed in her career, which includes 0-for-5 in tournaments this year.
3: Majors won. She captured the LPGA Championship in 1978, 1985 and 1989.
48: Career victories, sixth on the all-time list behind Kathy Whitworth (88), Mickey Wright (82), Patty Berg (60), Louise Suggs (58) and Betsy Rawls (55).
221: Top-10 finishes, including finishing second in 51 tournaments–six times runner-up in a major.
12th: Place on the career LPGA money list entering 2002 with $5,310,391 in earnings.
9: LPGA awards–Rookie of the Year, Rolex Player of the Year (4), Vare Trophy (3), William and Mousie Powell Award (1).
Kellogg-Keebler Classic
Where: Stonebridge Country Club, Aurora. The club is located off I-88. Exit at Rt. 59 and follow the signs.
When: The 54-hole tournament begins Friday and runs through Sunday.
Purse: $1.2 million; $180,000 to the winner.
TV: ESPN, 1-2:30 p.m. Friday, 2-4 p.m. Saturday; ESPN2, 4-6 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Weekly clubhouse badges: $100; grounds-only: $20 Friday, $25 Saturday, $30 Sunday. Children 15 or younger are admitted free with an adult.
Special event: Saturday will be Nancy Lopez appreciation day.
