They’re Hurting, but Things Are Shaping Up

The big news on opening day at the Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament was made by a golfer who couldn’t talk and another who couldn’t stop, by one who played with a sore finger and another who hurt her hand last week saying hello to a fan.

Annika Sorenstam, who has laryngitis, used hand signals to communicate with her caddie, played 67 silent shots around Mission Hills and shared the first-round lead on a breezy Thursday afternoon.

“Other than my voice, I’m fine,” Sorenstam whispered.

Somehow, Tracy Kerdyk was just as good as Sorenstam. Kerdyk also turned in a 67, even though she had strained ligaments in the middle finger of her right hand during practice and considered withdrawing.

“Let’s just say I am very happy with the way I played,” Kerdyk said.

Amy Alcott shot a four-under-par 68 and would feel a whole lot better if she could just win a tournament. This one would be nice, but any old tournament will do, since Alcott needs 30 victories to qualify for the Hall of Fame and has been stuck on 29 for five years now.

“What can I say?” Alcott said, who then launched a discourse on how she finally might be able to walk into the Hall.

“It’s a question of how much dedication you have and at times, I’ve had trouble motivating the fire,” she said.

“The fire comes right back when you shoot a good round. It’s the long and winding road that leads back to your door. Paul McCartney was right.”

All right, then what was Martha Nause listening to? “I Want To Hold Your Hand?” Actually, that’s sort of how her problem started.

At last week’s tournament in Phoenix, Nause hurt her hand when a fan shook it too hard after the first round.

She played the second round in pain, then withdrew to save herself for this tournament.

It seems to have been a good decision. Nause matched Alcott’s 68 in an error-free round featuring four birdies, no bogeys and renewed confidence.

“My game overall is taking shape, coming into its own,” Nause said. “The biggest drawback over my career is not believing in myself.”

Sorenstam’s problem wasn’t believing in herself, it was her voice. She wound up pointing a lot, but caddie Colin Cann said the whole thing worked out pretty well.

“This is the fifth day she’s had it, so we’re getting used to it by now,” he said.

If anything, Sorenstam is getting used to winning. She won three times last year, banked $667,000, had 12 top-10 finishes and was named the player of the year. Her first tournament victory was the U.S. Women’s Open, which is a nice place to start.

Sorenstam had only one golf problem Thursday. She bogeyed the par-four 15th, her only bogey of the day, when she three-putted from 30 feet, missing the second putt from six feet.

Everything else was flawless. Sorenstam started on No. 10 and made the turn at three under, then birdied No. 1 when she rolled in an eight-footer and No. 2 with a 24-footer after getting on the green with wedges.

“I’m pretty pleased,” Sorenstam whispered.

It just goes to show that when you shoot five under par, you might come up speechless.

At four under, Alcott had no such limitations. She remains, at 40, one of the most quotable players on the LPGA Tour. She hasn’t finished in the top 10 on the money list since 1988, when she won the second of her three Dinah Shore titles, but said she is far from finished.

“I feel like I’ve got some good golf left in me,” she said. “There would be nothing more exciting than winning my 30th tournament at the Dinah Shore.

“It’s all a matter of confidence. I don’t think age is really a factor. People are very quick to write people off, even before they disappear. I guess that’s what life is all about--a series of comebacks.”

Alcott said she is plotting a reaction if she could somehow win on Sunday.

“I might do something really crazy that people would talk about for years,” Alcott said. “I’ll probably keep my clothes on, though.”