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Lovable Kane is able
EUREKA, Mo. -- If the LPGA Tour were to conduct a popularity contest, the always-merry bridesmaid, Lorie Kane, would win in a landslide. But for the past four years, it was the only competition she knew she could win. Since joining the tour in 1996, Kane had earned the distinction as the best player to never win a tournament. She had nine second-place finishes and was the all-time leading money winner among players without a victory. She was the LPGA's version of Susan Lucci and the Buffalo Bills. On Sunday, by capturing the Michelob Light Classic, she lost that tag. And never before has a victory been more welcomed or anticipated.
After her victory, Kane sounded and smelled like a true Canadian. The beer-soaked 35-year-old quoted a hockey player about winning. " Mark Messier, upon re-signing with the Rangers, said that winning is an attitude," Kane said on the 18th green after being doused by Annika Sorenstam and her band of beer-shaking marauders. "I really believe that, and I came here this week believing that." But for many years, Kane's biggest hurdle was her attitude -- or, should we say, her disposition. If this even qualifies as a weakness, Kane was considered too friendly. Many players thought Kane, a combination of Howdy Doody, Mister Rogers, Richie Cunningham and Sandra Dee all rolled into one, was as soft as the Pillsbury Doughboy. The fact that she was full of life, chatty and had a permanent smile attached to her face -- a result of her days as a synchronized swimmer -- worked against her. She didn't possess the ability to stare down an opponent à la Pat Bradley, the ability to spew fire out of her mouth like a Dottie Pepper or the club-slamming tenacity of a Juli Inkster. "Lorie had to come to grips with winning on her own terms," said Meg Mallon, an expert on being nice -- 10 years ago she was voted in a Washington Post poll the most likeable player on the LPGA Tour. "Because she is so friendly and likeable, she really had a tough time intimidating someone down the stretch. And that is the X factor that wins golf tournaments." Over the years, numerous players have given Kane advice about being ruthless and going for the kill. Recently, Pepper told a newspaper reporter that Kane needed to get tougher and meaner on the golf course if she wanted to break into the winner's circle. On Sunday, Kane didn't resort to obtrusive looks that kill or tactics like walking in front of the competition to prove she was in the lead. Instead, she relied on what she does best. She dished out some good old-fashioned humble pie and in the process gave the field a good swipe across the fanny, winning by three shots "I had to win being myself," Kane said. "I couldn't be what Dottie wanted, or what anyone else told me I needed to be. I just had to win under my own terms. My caddie [Danny Sharp] told me to go out and do what I do every week, talk to the fans, thank the volunteers and smile. I had plenty to smile about." Her playing partner and closest competitor, Rosie Jones, who tied for third, said Kane's Mother Theresa act was somewhat out of character for a tournament leader. "She was typical Lorie Kane," Jones said. "Talking, chatting and always smiling. She was really enjoying it out there and it kind of threw me off that she was just being so nice." Earlier in the year, a Toronto Star headline read KANE IS A LOVABLE LOSER. Now, she is a loveable winner. "The best part is that now I don't have to answer all of those questions about when or why or what will it take to finally win," said Kane, who estimates she has been asked them about 1,000 times in her career. "Now it will be when will I win the second one or win a major. But no matter what else happens in my career no one can ever take this victory away from me." Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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