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Senior Stephenson
Aussie paving way for new tour; still haunted by past
Posted: Saturday January 08, 2000 08:48 AM
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Jan Stephenson has won three major championships. Stephen Dunn/Allsport |
By Jim Huber, CNNSI.com
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- It might not seem like much. They
are just some torn tendons in a ring finger. But to a
professional golfer, that can spell the end of a career.
And it nearly came to pass for Jan Stephenson that
frightening winter night in 1990 when a mugger
tried to rip a ring off her left hand in the parking
lot at the Miami Arena.
"My hand is never going to be the same," she said.
"The screws stay in it. I have no movement in my
left ring finger and the tendons are permanently
damaged. I still have to do a lot of therapy every
day to try and move the tendons. Still in cold
weather and rain, it hurts like crazy."
The incident is a decade old and though the
48-year-old Australian has fought her way back,
it still haunts her like it was last night.
"I try not to be too bitter because I feel like they
took ten years away from my career," Stephenson
said. "It's hard because I'm scared to death, like
sometimes when I'm in a mall at night and I have
to get to my car, I call a security guard to get
[me] there because I'm actually still paranoid."
"No one can come up from behind because,
well, that part was pretty tough."
Jan Stephenson says she tries not to be bitter that her attacker took ten years away from her career. CNN/SI |
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Once upon a time, she was the LPGA's pinup
queen. It didn't matter if Jan Stephenson could
play much golf. If only she flashed a leg or graced
a calendar. Image is everything.
But then she began to win. Sixteen times, including
three major championships, and she was looked
upon in a different light. That, too, all changed
with the mugging. For the 10 years since have
been winless and as she rebuilt her game, climbing
back into front-line competition, women's golf
nearly passed her by.
"It's scary. I can remember when I came out, Judy
Rankin, Joanne Carner, you'd see them in the
locker room and you'd be scared to death" Stephenson said. "You'd
never think about talking to them. Now these girls
come out and they have agents and managers
and caddies lined up and deals and they walk on
and they're just convinced they're gonna win the
first tournament."
Stephenson is one of the founders of the Women's
Senior Tour, which will kick off this season on a
limited basis. It's the over-40 set, ironically, coming
along just as she discovers she is still able to compete
with the kids.
And so she approaches the alternate tour with mixed
emotions
"Oh, there's nothing like winning," she said laughing. "Winning
anything is fun. I still want do both. I want to play against
the Nancy Lopezes and Beth Daniels and win those
if I could."
Yet, she adds, "Still playing the juniors is fun,
too."
And no doubt fun for the fans as well.
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