Juggling Act

Nancy Scranton, 45, is a 22-year veteran of the LPGA tour with three career wins. In 2001 she married Mark Williams, 42, and three years later gave birth to twins, Libby and Luke, thus becoming the oldest first-time mom in LPGA history. Ever since, Nancy, Mark (who doubles as Nancy's caddie) and the twins have crisscrossed the country, usually in a van, traveling from tournament to tournament. "Having kids out on tour is wild and crazy, and the greatest thing," says Scranton, who is 50th on the LPGA money list. "Surprisingly, it has also been a big help to my game, because too much thinking in golf is never good and my mind is usually focused on the kids." To catch the family's juggling act, SI spent 10 days with Scranton, Williams and their kids during the week of this summer's Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

1 THE LONG HAUL

SATURDAY, JULY 8, GLADSTONE, N.J.

We're finally going home [ Tampa] a week from Monday. Mark and I are beat, and I feel for the kids. They've had too many microwaved hot dogs and 5:30 a.m. wake-up calls. Plus they miss Orsino, the big white teddy bear in our living room. But first there's one more event. We're still in New Jersey--a few days ago I lost to Karrie Webb in the opening round of the HSBC Match Play at Hamilton Farm--and next up is a trip to the Toledo area for the Jamie Farr Classic, my fourth straight tournament and the 13th in the last 16 weeks. I'm enjoying playing right now, and at my age I have only so many years left. A lot of the girls on tour thought my career was over when I got pregnant, but having Libby and Luke rejuvenated my game. We tour pros get so wrapped up in ourselves and our swings. Redirecting that focus to the kids has freed up my mind.

The kids don't make a peep during one of our longest one-day drives of the year, a six-hour haul to Youngstown, Ohio. Their favorite DVD, Discover Spot, is better than a tranquilizer.

2 HEADQUARTERS

SUNDAY, JULY 9, YOUNGSTOWN TO SYLVANIA.

We drive another three hours to Sylvania (just northwest of Toledo), arriving at the Wingate Inn at noon. Our suite has a bedroom, a living room and a kitchenette. Before having kids, I didn't care where I stayed, but now we can't survive in anything but a suite with a microwave and a fridge.

Mark naps with the kids so I can work--not on my game, but on some ironing (clothes for tomorrow's outing in Jackson, Mich.), some e-mails and on travel plans. Tonight, while Mark is giving the kids a bath, I'll be 60 miles away earning my $3,000 fee by having margaritas at a pre-outing party.

3 CAREER SAVERS