This Bikini Drew Only Icy Stares

It doesn’t matter how hot it gets at Wimbledon--you don’t violate the All England Club dress code.

Michelle Ford, sweltering in 102-degree heat last Friday, figured the best way to cool off was to strip down to her bikini. Officials told her to cover up, lest she become a center of attention.

“The heat has been unbearable,” she said. “I was just topping my tan.”

The All England Club was unfazed.

“The rule is you have to wear a proper top whether you are a man or a woman,” a spokeswoman said.

Trivia time: What is the record for winning at least one professional golf tournament in consecutive years?

Man on the go: Ken Schrader, 39, is the busiest driver in motor racing. A regular on the Winston Cup stock car series, he also races his own cars nearly every week the series has an off day. Asked why, he said:

“I just like to race. My shop is my boat, my lake house, my golf game. This is what I enjoy doing most.”

Fleeting fame: An item by Joe Falls in the Detroit News:

“Stanford’s Bob (Horse) Green . . . was the only player to play 180 minutes in three straight Rose Bowl games.”

The nickname and the statistics are right, but the name was Reynolds.

Tell it like it is: When the National Bicycle League scheduled a major championship in San Bernardino, it was called the Earthquake Nationals.

Looking ahead: Senior tour golfer Dave Stockton says that Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and Lanny Wadkins have already been questioning him about playing on the senior tour.

“I want to be around in 2000 when those three guys go for rookie-of-the-year honors,” Stockton said. Crenshaw actually won’t be eligible until 2002.

Different strokes: Many professional athletes rant and rave when they leave a team about how much they were underappreciated during their stay.

Not Tony Casillas, the Dallas Cowboy defensive tackle who jumped to the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent. Casillas rented two billboards on major Dallas freeways with this message: “Thanks for three great years. I’ll miss you, Dallas.”

Another happy guy: When Dave Henderson of the Kansas City Royals signs an autograph, he adds below the signature: “Still having fun.”

Trivia answer: Seventeen, by Arnold Palmer, 1955-71, and Jack Nicklaus, 1962-78, on the PGA tour; Kathy Whitworth, 1962-78, on the LPGA tour; and Seve Ballesteros, 1976-92, on the European tour.

Not for sore arms: Ever hear of Throlf? That is “thrown golf.”

Golf Digest reports that an 82 by Joe Flynn in April of 1975 is the best score ever recorded. Flynn sank his final, six-foot putt by leaning over and dropping the ball in the hole.

Quotebook: ESPN commentator Bob Jenkins on the Aug. 6 Brickyard 400 stock car race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “This will be the biggest new event in sports since the first Super Bowl and the biggest event in motorsports in 50 years.”