She’s Gone From Shadows to Spotlight of LPGA Event : Shapcott, No Longer Obscured by Others, Will Be in Field at StoneRidge Today

Members of the Knowle Golf Club in Bristol, England, probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Shapcott family will be represented in an LPGA tournament this week.

Success has followed this golf-playing family--longtime members of Knowle--for years.

But the people at Knowle might be startled to find out that it is Allison Shapcott, not her younger sister Susan, who was the only amateur to qualify Sunday for the San Diego Inamori Classic, which starts today at StoneRidge Country Club in Poway.

Susan Shapcott, 18, played for England in the Curtis Cup when she was 16.

“Susan was so good when she was so young,” Allison Shapcott said. “Her name was everywhere.”

Allison, 20, didn’t start playing until she was 12, and she didn’t escape Susan’s shadow until she left England three years ago to accept a golf scholarship at United States International University in San Diego.

Why USIU? Shapcott knew Philippa Andrade, then the assistant golf coach, and she was attracted by the opportunity to play golf year-round in the San Diego sunshine.

“Allison wasn’t that strong a player when she came here,” said Gordon Severson, USIU golf coach. “She didn’t have a good swing. That’s one of the reasons her sister had beaten her. But her golf swing, which was stiff in the wrists, became more round and less up and down. Now her swing is really nice.”

Now Shapcott --who hit 67 of 72 greens in the NCAA championships at New Mexico last year--has added power to her steady game.

She has become as confident as she is cool under pressure.

“Being away from (Susan) helped,” she said. “She was always in the limelight.”

Ironically, it was when Susan joined Allison at USIU last fall that Allison started to come into her own.

“I beat her a couple of times for the first time ever,” said Allison, a junior who is No. 25 in the NCAA’s Division I women’s rankings. “I think she was surprised how I was playing.”

Imagine how surprised Susan Shapcott will be to find out that her sister will play in an LPGA event before she does.

“It’s kind of ironic,” Allison said. “It’s kind of strange.”

Susan left USIU after the second quarter this year and is playing with the English youth team in Paris. She plans to turn professional in Europe this summer.

“The lifestyle here didn’t suit her,” Allison said. “She’s used to being able to go play and practice when she wanted to. She gets frustrated when she can’t get what she wants . . .

“It was difficult for her here. At home, she was in the limelight. Here, she was just another player.”

Here, Susan played No. 3 for USIU. Allison played No. 2 but will be No. 1 when USIU resumes competition next week.

For the first time, Allison Shapcott is in the shadow of neither her sister nor a teammate. For the past two years, Laurette Maritz was the star at USIU. This year, senior Helen Alfredsson has been playing No. 1.

But Severson said Shapcott has earned the opportunity to play No. 1 for 12th-ranked USIU in the team’s next tournament.

As for Shapcott’s next tournament, well, she can hardly believe she will be teeing off with professionals Caroline Gowan and Carolyn Hill in the final threesome today at 1:30 p.m.

The road there began last Wednesday as Shapcott was on spring break. She was relaxing, going to the beach, and taking a few days off from golf. A friend mentioned that Shapcott could still try to qualify for the Inamori.

You might wonder why Shapcott was not aware of a forthcoming pro tournament in her own city. But golf does not consume her life. She likes to swim, barbecue and fish with friends at Miramar Lake, and she has a 3.0 grade-point average studying international travel and tourism. “When I do practice or play, everything goes into it,” Shapcott said. “But I don’t think you have to eat, drink and sleep golf in order to play well.”

She doesn’t know whether she wants to try for the LPGA Tour or go into the travel business after she graduates next year. One of her goals right now is to find a summer job.

She’s unassuming but also is determined and curious as to how she really stacks up against top competition.

“For the first time, she’s thinking maybe she is good enough (to play professionally),” Severson said.

So, last Thursday, Shapcott decided to try to qualify for this week’s tournament. Playing StoneRidge for the first time, she practiced Friday and Saturday and borrowed the $50 entrance fee for Sunday’s qualifying round.

With the help of Severson, Shapcott also rounded up Craig Stout, a freshman redshirt on the USIU men’s golf team, to caddy for her.

Shapcott three-putted the first hole, was in the rough on the second and in a trap on the third. She bogeyed three of the first four holes.

Just a year or two ago, that start would have been devastating.

“I would have just given up completely,” Shapcott said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible to finish under 80. But I have more confidence and experience. I’ve seen other people come back and make a good score. Especially Americans, who are very aggressive and seem to never give up.”

Shapcott finished with a four-over-par 75, two or three shots higher than what Shapcott thought would be necessary to qualify.

“I was surprised at the scores,” Shapcott said. “A lot of the players hadn’t played the course, and it is a tricky course.”

It is short (6,042 yards) and has six par-3s and five par-5s. The hills on the back nine make it play longer.

After she finished her round, Shapcott had only a brief and tension-filled wait before she learned that she and nonexempt professional Lori West had shot the low rounds among the 12 players trying to qualify.

Shapcott had to get Stout for a few more days’ work and come up with the $65 entry fee.

“I’m in a big debt,” she said.

Spoken like a true student. School resumed Monday, and Shapcott plans to attend classes Thursday night after the first round and Friday afternoon after the second (she tees off at 8:30 Friday morning).

Her goal is to make the two-round cut and still be playing this weekend.

But first things first.

Tuesday, the guard at the gate wasn’t going to let Shapcott into the players’ entrance. She was carrying an old, beat-up golf bag and sure didn’t look familiar.

Then, she said, the regular tour players were curious as to the identity of the new player on the driving range. Who was the only amateur in the 144-player field?

“If they haven’t seen you before,” Shapcott said, “they ask, ‘Who are you?’ . . . At first I didn’t want to hit balls with them. I didn’t think I should be there.”

Shapcott said everybody was friendly, but the setting was intimidating.

“I’ve had a lot to take in,” she said. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.”

TOURNAMENT FACTS

When: Thursday-Sunday. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. for the first two rounds, 8:30 for Saturday and Sunday rounds.

Site: StoneRidge Country Club, Poway. Course is 6,042 yards, par 71.

Purse: $225,000. Winner receives $33,750.

Defending Champion: Ayako Okamoto, 66-70-69-70--275. Okamoto defeated Betsy King by one stroke.

Tickets: At the gate, $8 for grounds and $10 for the clubhouse Thursday and Friday, $10 for grounds and $15 for clubhouse Saturday and Sunday. Children 12 and under free. No discounts. Season passes at the gate: $50 for grounds and $70 for clubhouse. Weekend passes for Saturday and Sunday are $15 for grounds and $25 for clubhouse.

Parking: Free public parking available on Valle Verde Road, off Espola Road. Shuttle service to main gate provided.