Davies has all the fun

On the ninth tee of the final round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship Sunday, Laura Davies pulled out her driver and took a few swings to see how the club felt in her hands. For the long-hitting Brit, a driver was a risky play on the narrow, par-5 dogleg left.

"Let's give it a whirl," Davies said to her caddie, Terry Mundy, summing up her approach to life and golf in one quick statement.

Forgoing a tee, only tufting up the grass, Davies preceded to close her stance and then took a swing that would have made Babe Ruth proud. The ball, which was hit so hard it made a whistling sound, never got more than 10 feet off the ground, but perfectly hooked around the corner to give her a shot at hitting the 525-yard hole in two shots. The gallery oohed and aahed.

THE SHAG BAG Watch out Michael Jordan, you might have some competition. Annika Sorenstam captured her second straight Kraft Nabisco Championship in a pair of bright red Nike golf shoes. Can anyone say Air Annika? "Every time I stood over a putt, I saw these red little toes and it made me smile," Sorenstam said. ... I guess you could say that Liselotte Neumann's second-place finish proves she is serious about playing, not serving as captain for, the 2003 Solheim Cup to be played in Sweden. ... Someone inadvertently asked Karrie Webb whether having her and Annika Sorenstam tied for the lead in a major was good for women's tennis. Webb laughed and replied, "I don't know. Ask Venus." Maybe the writer was confused; Pete Sampras was seen doing countless sit-ups and working on his serve at the Mission Hills tennis courts, just 100 yards from the golf course's media room. ... If Maryland wins the NCAA championship on Monday night, Juli Inkster will be crowned the LPGA's college basketball guru. She would win the tour pool, which 138 players and caddies entered for a $10 fee. Inkster picked the Terps over Duke and would best her own caddie, Greg Johnston. By the way, if Indiana wins, yours truly wins the pool. ... Aree Wonglukiet was asked when she would turn pro. "I don't know. When I get my braces off." Her sister also made the cut and was one of four amateurs to play over the weekend. ... Spain's Raquel Carriedo was disqualified Saturday morning after realizing she signed an incorrect scorecard the day before. During the second round, she made a bogey-5 on the 10th hole but signed for a 4. Interestingly, Carriedo was Aree Wonglukiet's marker during the round and originally wrote a 5 down for the 15-year-old on the hole, even though she made a par. Wonglukiet noticed the error and had Carriedo change it before turning in the card. ... Canada's Lorie Kane made an ace Saturday from 160 yards with a 5-iron on No. 8. The hole-in-one was the second this week for Kane. She also aced the fifth hole during the pro-am. In the first round, she appeared to have yet another ace until her ball lipped out on No. 14.

Her playing partner, 15-year-old Aree Wonglukiet, stood there in awe, as if she were witnessing a comic book superhero come to life. With her broad shoulders, extraordinary strength and disregard for fear, Davies easily could have been a character dreamed up by Marvel.

On Sunday morning, Wongluekiet, the No. 1 junior in the country, was especially excited about playing in the final round of the LPGA's first major of the season. Even though she wasn't playing well enough to be in the last group, something she did two years ago when she was just 13, playing with Davies was a special treat.

And Davies didn't disappoint. From the first tee, where she told the youngster, "I don't need to shake your hand since we know each other," she treated Wongluekiet like an equal.

Down the first fairway, after Davies ripped a 2-iron as far as Wongluekiet's driver, the kid, who just got her driver's permit, questioned the veteran about her car collection.

"Yeah, I have four cars, including a couple of Ferrari's," Davies said as Wongluekiet's eyes grew wide.

After Wongluekiet birdied the third hole, Davies asked her young playing partner when she had to go back to school. "Tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.," said Wongluekiet, who attends Pendelton Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and was on spring break last week.

"You have to fly back to Florida and go to school tomorrow?" asked Davies. "That stinks. I tell you what, if you shoot under par today, I will write you a note to be excused."

Later, Wongluekiet asked her new pal about her modest home back in England. "I heard about your house," Wongluekiet said.

"It's not a big house -- just five bedrooms, but I have six acres with a soccer field and a nine-hole pitch-and-putt golf course in the backyard," Davies said. "So it's a fun house."

"Cool," said Wongluekiet, an appropriate response for a teenager.

"Yeah, actually I have two spare bedrooms so you and Naree [Aree's twin golf-playing sister] can come and visit any time you would like," Davies said.

"But we like to stay up late, we may keep you awake," said Wongluekiet, who by that time was probably wondering if there was any way Davies could adopt her.

On the 18th hole, Davies once again lived up to her reputation of being a gambler with a kind heart. After Wongluekiet, who was 1-over for the round, perfectly split the fairway with her drive, Davies told her, "Hey, you played brilliantly today. Tell your father that I said you don't have to go to school tomorrow."

After hitting a 300-yard drive on the 520-yard par-5, Davies decided to go for the island green with her second shot, even though her ball sat in the rough. Some 230-yards from dry land, she pulled out a 3-iron. "This is going to fly," she told Mundy.

Unfortunately, Davies hit more grass than ball, which trickled into the water. The crowd gave her a standing ovation for trying the risky shot. (By the way, she got up and down for a par, an effort which received another standing ovation.)

"She is unbelievable," Wongluekiet said. "I would like to be more like her."

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.

 

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