WOMEN’S GOLF DINAH SHORE TOURNAMENT : Hard Work Pays Off for Lopez

Nancy Lopez acknowledges that there is always pressure on her to perform to high expectations.

As one of golf’s premier players, a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, Lopez doesn’t want to be humiliated on the course.

She was on her game Thursday in the desert, shooting a four-under-par 68 to share the first-round lead of the Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament with Missie Berteotti and Spanish-born Marta Figueras-Dotti, a former USC player.

“There’s always pressure on you once you’ve had success, (so) it’s hard to settle for less,” said Lopez, who has 46 victories, including one in the Dinah Shore in 1981. “It’s hard to justify playing just so-so.”

Lopez is here without her family--husband Ray Knight, who may join her this weekend, and daughters Ashley Marie, Errin Shea and Torri Heather.

“My kids are not here, and I miss them, but it’s easier to work on my game,” Lopez said.

She had an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys in her round. The eagle came on the par-four, 375-yard sixth hole when her five-iron shot of 166 yards into the wind found the hole.

Lopez, 36, has played in only two previous tournaments this year. She finished second in the Hawaiian Open and sixth in Tucson.

“I know if I haven’t worked hard on my game, I’m humiliated,” she said. “There’s pressure to perform.”

Lopez said she doesn’t concentrate on golf when she’s home in Albany, Ga., but her husband, Ray, a former major league baseball player, always reminds her about the game.

“He always thinks about my statistics,” she said. “Sometimes, I just want to go to bed. But he inspires me. He shows enthusiasm toward my game.”

Lopez added that she probably wouldn’t be as motivated to play well if she were married to someone else.

She said she is also trying to keep her temper in check.

“Early in the year, I’d get angry when I hit a bad shot,” Lopez said. “I let my emotions play my golf game, and you can’t do that.”

So when Lopez missed a par putt on the 12th hole, she said that instead of getting angry, she took a couple of deep breaths and went on.

Berteotti, who has yet to win on the LPGA tour in a career that began in 1986, had four birdies in a bogey-free round.

She said she started putting cross-handed after watching Tom Kite’s performance with the same style in the Bob Hope tournament last month, when he won with a record score of 35 under par.

“I’m not afraid to try anything,” Berteotti said.

Sharon Barrett, Danielle Ammaccapane and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson were one stroke behind the leaders, each shooting a 69.

Golf Notes

Defending champion Dottie Mochrie shot a five-over-par 77. . . . Amy Alcott, who has won the Dinah Shore tournament three times, had a 72.