Up and Down

By THOMAS BONK

Oct. 30, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Over at LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., a question arose over the tour’s sense of direction in 1997. Namely, just where the heck was the LPGA going?

Was it headed for even greener fairways, where newer stars such as Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb would continue to showcase their talents?

Or, as an organization, was the LPGA heading south, far south, managing to spike its feet on the way, with sponsor defections, tournament problems and internal strife?

Actually, it’s a multiple-choice answer, because this year, the LPGA has given us some of both.

Sorenstam has hauled off everything that hasn’t been tied down, winning five times and setting an LPGA record for prize money in one year, with two official events remaining. Webb, who set the record last year by going over $1 million in prize money, has won three times and established herself as exhibit 1-B to Sorenstam’s 1-A while the LPGA has tried to make an airtight case for itself.

This year, prize money has gone up $4.1 million to $30.2 million, the number of tournaments increased from 39 to 43 and the number of veteran players who still proved to be factors has been up too.

Betsy King won the Nabisco Dinah Shore at 41. Nancy Lopez, who hadn’t won in four years, made up for it with a a victory in April, three months after her 40th birthday. Colleen Walker, 41; Tammie Green, 37, and Chris Johnson, 39, also won--Green and Johnson have won twice--so in some respects it has been a good, old year for the LPGA.

But there also have been problems. In the LPGA, there always seem to be three persistent trouble-spots: sponsors, exposure and perception. The LPGA had problems in two of the three areas in 1997 but weathered at least one of them.

The LPGA took a hit in late March when Sports Illustrated showed a great deal more interest in the number of gay women present in Palm Springs during the Dinah Shore than in the tournament itself. Titleist pulled its ads from the magazine in protest and Commissioner Jim Ritts took the high road during the controversy, which proved the correct path.

Thirty-one LPGA events in 1997 have some sort of television coverage, and even if the major networks haven’t been all that interested, the LPGA’s exposure certainly has been no worse than in years past.

But the issue of sponsors gave Ritts fits.

* Diet Dr Pepper pulled out of the LPGA’s Pro-Am. Ritts plugged in Office Depot and the purse was increased $100,000 to $600,000.

* Sprint pulled out of the $1.2-million Titleholders championship. Two presenting sponsors will replace Sprint.

* The Susan G. Komen International was saved when a Myrtle Beach golf vacation company and the City of Hope Hospitals stepped in.

* The Fieldcrest Cannon Classic was saved after contract holder DelWilber and Associates closed its offices and Ritts convinced Raycom to step in.

If that wasn’t enough, the LPGA had a vice president, its director of communications and its manager of public relations resign.

Add it all up and it has been sort of a tumultuous year off the course for the LPGA, and a great year on it.

Laura Davies has continued to have her playing problems a year after winning two majors, but she still managed a victory--her usual at the Standard Register Ping, which was No. 5 for her there.

Terry-Jo Myers, only months removed from a bladder disease so debilitating she thought about suicide, won twice in three months.

Alison Nicholas of England, barely 5 feet tall, won the U.S. Open. Wendy Ward won the Fieldcrest with a record 23 under par score.

But Sorenstam has been the one to catch, right from the start. The 27-year-old Swede won the season-opening Tournament of Champions and had four victories by June 1. In fact, since Sorenstam hadn’t missed a cut in two years, she was a compelling favorite to win her third consecutive U.S. Open, where she promptly missed the cut.

When Sorenstam won the CoreStates Betsy King for the second year in a row, it was her fifth victory of the year. The headline writers made themselves ready. They called her “Soarin’ Sorenstam.”

Now, that’s the kind of headline the LPGA likes to see. It’s something to work for in 1998.

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LPGA Facts

1997 RESULTS

*--*

Date Tournament Winner Jan. 9-12 Tournament of Champions Annika Sorenstam Jan. 17-19 HealthSouth Inaugural Michelle McGann Feb. 6-9 Palm Beach National Pro-Am Kelly Robbins Feb. 13-16 Los Angeles Women’s Championship Terry-Jo Myers Feb. 21-23 Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open Annika Sorenstam Feb. 27-Mar. 2 Alpine Australian Ladies Masters Gail Graham March 13-16 Welch’s-Circle K Championship Donna Andrews March 20-23 Standard Register Ping Laura Davies March 27-30 Nabisco Dinah Shore Betsy King April 3-6 Longs Drug Challenge Annika Sorenstam April 17-20 Susan G. Komen International Karrie Webb April 25-27 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship Nancy Lopez May 1-4 Sprint Titleholders Championship Tammie Green May 9-11 Sara Lee Classic Terry-Jo Myers May 15-18 McDonald’s LPGA Championship Chris Johnson May 22-25 LPGA Corning Classic Rosie Jones May 24-25 JCPenney-LPGA Skins Game Annika Sorenstam May 29-June 1 Michelob Light Classic Annika Sorenstam June 5-8 Oldsmobile Classic Pat Hurst June 13-15 Edina Realty Classic Danielle Ammaccapane June 19-22 Rochester International Penny Hammel June 27-29 ShopRite LPGA Classic Michelle McGann July 3-6 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Kelly Robbins July 10-13 U.S. Women’s Open Alison Nicholas July 17-20 Big Apple Classic Michele Redman July 25-27 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic Tammie Green July 31-Aug. 3 du Maurier Ltd. Classic Colleen Walker Aug. 7-10 Friendly’s Classic Deb Richard Aug. 14-17 Women’s British Open Karrie Webb Aug. 22-24 Star Bank LPGA Classic Colleen Walker Aug. 30-Sept. 1 State Farm Rail Classic Cindy Figg-Currier Sept. 5-7 Safeway LPGA Championship Chris Johnson Sept. 11-14 SAFECO Classic Karrie Webb Sept. 18-21 Ping-Welch’s Championship Liselotte Neumann Sept. 25-28 Fieldcrest Cannon Classic Wendy Ward Oct. 2-5 CoreStates Betsy King Classic Annika Sorenstam Oct. 16-19 World Championship of Women’s Golf Juli Inkster

*--*

1997 SCHEDULE

Date: Tournament

Oct. 31-Nov. 2: Toray Japan Queens Cup, Seta G.C., Otsu, Japan

Nov. 20-23: ITT LPGA Tour Championship, ITT Sheraton Desert Inn, Las Vegas

Dec. 4-7: JCPenney Classic, Innisbrook Hilton Resort, Tarpon Springs, Fla.*

Dec. 12-14: Diners Club Matches, PGA WestNicklaus Course), La Quinta, Calif.*

Dec. 20-21: Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, South Shore G.C., Henderson, Nev.*

* Unofficial event

Match Play

Comparing this season’s performances of Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb (Rankings on tour in parenthesis).

Tournaments