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A-OK Lopez makes Tulsa return at Williams Championship
Updated: Thursday September 06, 2001 6:07 PM
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Forty-eight victories and two worn knees later, Nancy Lopez returned to play at her old digs for the first time in nearly 25 years. "Tulsa has been dear to my heart since college," Lopez said Thursday as she prepared for the first round of the Williams Championship. The former University of Tulsa star returns as one of golf's most beloved players, a Hall of Famer with $5.3 million in career earnings. But Lopez had to save up for this trip. Her right shoulder, still aching from a fall at her Albany, Ga., home late last year, and a right knee that's stripped of its cartilage have kept her out of play the past 1 1/2 months. She skipped last weekend's State Farm Classic to preserve herself for the 54-hole tournament at Tulsa Country Club, in its first year on the tour. "I was afraid I wasn't going to get to come here," the 44-year-old Lopez said, rubbing the twinge in her shoulder that came with rainy skies Thursday morning. "I was in a lot of pain and just trying to deal with that and not wanting to play." Lopez hasn't had a victory since 1997. With Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and nine other 2001 tournament winners in the 144-player field Friday, she made no bold statements about grabbing a share of the $1 million purse. "I'd like to shoot under par," she said. "Hopefully I'll be there on Sunday and play some really good golf and be able to feel really good about the week." Lopez played at Tulsa Country Club only a few times during her college career. The Golden Hurricane team was based at another club. Tulsa, then with a fledgling program under beginning coach Dale McNamara, was the only school to offer Lopez even a partial scholarship. She won 11 tournaments in two years before turning pro. Lopez won nine tournaments as a rookie in 1978, including a record-setting five straight. She was rookie of the year and player of the year. She called her college days "a fun part of my life." She had been catching up with old friends and planned a visit to the campus across town, wondering if she would recognize it after so many years. If her health holds, Lopez plans to play in only a few more LPGA events the next two months before heading home for the winter. Her three children, the oldest a high school senior, have gotten used to having her around, she said. "When I heard that we might have a tournament here, I was really excited about that," Lopez said. "When you have good memories of a place you look forward to going back there. You don't really know what you're looking for."
DIVOTS: The LPGA last visited Oklahoma for the 1983 U.S. Women's
Open, which also was held in Tulsa. Jan Stephenson won that year
and is in the field. Lopez missed the tournament because she was
pregnant. ... Besides Lopez, University of Tulsa alumni in the
field include Jody Anschutz, the 1986 Rookie of the Year; Kelly
Robbins, a nine-time winner on the LPGA tour; and Melissa McNamara,
who succeeded her mother as coach of Tulsa's women's team in June
2000.
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