From Down Under To Up Top

It would be an understatement to say that Jan Stephenson was looking forward to a week off. She had been fantasizing about it for weeks. Thirteen straight LPGA tournaments and a healthy bank account—she had earned a rest, she told herself. Her golf clubs, jeans and bathing suit were all packed; she was ready to disappear to Florida and work very hard at doing nothing.

What Stephenson wasn't ready for was the telephone call from LPGA Commissioner Ray Volpe, begging her to play in an upcoming tournament. Several of the top money-winners had withdrawn at the last minute, but the sponsor would be appeased if Stephenson appeared. Erasing visions of palm trees from her mind, Stephenson agreed to play. "There are times," she said wistfully, "when I wish I was a nobody again."

Alas or happily, Stephenson's "nobody" days are over. In her third year, the 24-year-old Australian is the hottest "somebody" on the ever-expanding LPGA tour. She currently stands fourth on the money list, having finished in the top 10 nine times in the 15 tournaments she has entered. She has won twice, come in second once and finished in a tie for third place in the lucrative Colgate-Dinah Shore, picking up $10,500.

All of this has earned Stephenson $47,470, a sum that would be even more impressive if it weren't for Judy Rankin, whose total winnings stand at $99,385. No woman golfer has ever topped $100,000 for a single season, but clearly Rankin will, probably in this week's U.S. Open, a tournament Stephenson would like very much to win.

Stephenson's success hasn't been quite the overnight affair it seems. She joined the tour in 1974, after dominating the professional circuit in Australia. She earned more than $16,000, finished 28th on the money list and was Rookie of the Year but she was better known for her looks (blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'5", 115 pounds) than her golf game. Last year she upped her earnings to $20,066 and improved her stroke average but never, came in better than third.

Stephenson didn't particularly enjoy being subjected to the kind of questions ("She's pretty, but can she win?") that still haunt a non-winner like Laura Baugh, so she decided to do something about it. She won the Sarah Coventry-Naples ( Fla.) Classic by a stroke in early February, shooting 73-69-76—218. "My putting was the big difference," she said. "I've been on the practice green eight hours a day. I try to make 100 four-footers in a row—and don't leave until I do."

The last two rounds at Naples were played in gusty winds, a condition most golfers like about as much as a downhill putt. Stephenson, however, was raised on the blustery shores of the Tasman Sea, and she gets a strange gleam in her eye and begins to fire birdies when small-craft warnings are posted. Ever the perfectionist, she was not happy with her closing-round 76 and set out to prove to herself, as well as to others, that the victory was no fluke.

Five tournaments later, at the Birmingham Classic, she opened with a 65 and closed 70-68 for 203, the lowest 54-hole total on the tour this year.

Stephenson's success is a result of exceptional dedication, determination and...four-leaf clovers. "I had never even heard of them," says Stephenson, "let alone seen one until my caddie gave me one at Birmingham. Maybe it helped." If it wasn't the four-leafer, it must have been Dana Derouaux' shoes. Derouaux is Stephenson's regular caddie. "You see," she says, "Dana has a pair of brown shoes that we call his 68 shoes. He only brings them out when we really need them."

Superstitions aside, Stephenson is fanatically diligent about her game. "I can't stand mediocrity," she says. "I have very definite goals. Last year it was the top 20 [she missed by $32]. This year it's the top 10. I hope to be the best someday." Last winter Stephenson worked on her swing tirelessly. She often would sneak off to Phoenix, and when she wasn't-downtown cheering for the Suns, she was on the practice tee with her teacher, Ed Oldfield. As a result, her game has become almost boring in its consistency—she has missed only one cut in 68 events since joining the tour—and her stroke average has dropped to 72.71, third best to Rankin's and JoAnne earner's on the circuit.