SPORTS
MARVIN GLASSMAN
Special to The Jewish News
M
any professional
athletes start think-
ing about retiring at
35. But not professional
golfer Amy Alcott.
She seems to be blossom-
ing with age. Just 13 days
prior to her 35th birthday,
she sunk only her third ca-
reer hole-in-one during the
$500,000 Phar-Mor Classic
in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
"I didn't see it (the ball) go
in," Ms. Alcott explained. "I
tried to hit the ball lightly
into the wind. It faded from
my eyes and the people's
hands went up around the
green."
After 15 successful years
in pro golf, winning 28 tour-
naments and nearly $2.5
million in prize money, Ms.
Alcott's 1990 season was
poor — by her standards.
She earned only $99,208. It
was the first time in 12 years
she had not made more than
$100,000.
A key reason for the poor
performance was the death
from cancer of Ms. Alcott's
mother, Lee, in June, 1990.
"I lost my best friend who
supported me emotionally
throughout my career," Ms.
Alcott said. "I probably
made a mistake in coming
back on the circuit too soon.
Golf is a game that requires
me to be totally focused and
mentally alert. That wasn't
the case in the past season.
Now, I feel rested, eager and
ready to play."
"For Amy, it's not a
matter of if she'll make the
Hall of Fame, it's a question
of when," said Nancy Rubin,
a fellow LPGA pro. "She is
one of the best golfers to play
well under pressure."
Ms. Alcott started her
winning ways after taking
lessons at a country club in
her hometown of Pacific
Palisades, Calif., as a young
teen-ager. She won the third
tournament she entered and
highlighted her short ama-
teur career by winning the
Marvin Glassman writes from
Miami, Fla.
Far From
The Last Green
At 35, golfer Amy Alcott jokes that she
has 55 good years left on the course.
USGA Junior Girls title at
17.
A key ingredient to her
success was being coached
by Walter Keller since she
was 15. Mr. Keller spotted
Ms. Alcott's early flair for
the game and predicted a
winner.
"Physically, Amy had the
ideal build — I called her
`my little race horse' because
she started winning right
from the third tournament
she entered. Amy is short
and stocky around the chest.
That allows her to hit the
ball from left to right, which
is extremely difficult to do
even for many of the profes-
sional woman golfers to-
day," said Mr. Keller, from
his golf shop in Los Angeles.
He took Ms. Alcott under
his wing in 1973 and has
remained her coach. He also
served as a father figure to
Ms. Alcott, after her father
died when she was 16.
"I think of her as my own
girl because I have no chil-
dren of my own," said Mr.
Keller, now 82. "I feel that
Lee Alcott and I guided her
and gave her good advice not
only in her golf game, but
also about her life."
Ms. Alcott seems to view
the relationship the same
way.
"Walter has been a strong
element to my -stability and
success," she said. "There
have been times when I
questioned my judgement
and ability, and he's always
been there to help me out."
Ms. Alcott followed Mr.
Keller's advice in turning
pro in 1975, turning down
golf scholarships from many
universities.
"That was a tough piece of
advice," Mr. Keller recalled.
"Lee wanted Amy to go to
college and Amy wanted to
pursue her education. But
the level of play in college
was way below Amy's stan-
dards. There would be no
challenges for her and she
would only improve by turn-
ing pro."
Ms. Alcott remembers the
decision to turn professional
as "not an easy one to make.
But it turned out to be the
right decision," she said.
Ms. Alcott started having
success with her ability to
putt, stroke and concentrate
almost immediately. She
won the Orange Blossom
Classic, only her fourth pro
tournament during her in-
augural season, was rookie-
of-the-year and followed up
with two more tournament
victories in 1976.
"Right away, we were able
to see that Amy was spe-
cial," said veteran LPGA
golfer Jan Stephenson.
"Here was a gutsy girl that
was not intimidated by all
the great veteran golfers.
Her ability to concentrate,
even at 19, is extraordin-
ary
After winning two more
titles from 1976 through
1978, Ms. Alcott moved from
being a budding star on the
pro circuit to being one of the
dominant players in 1979
and 1980. She won eight
more titles, including the
prestigious U.S. Open and
Peter Jackson Classic, and
earned over $350,000 in that
two-year span.
As a result, Ms. Alcott was
selected as the 1980 Golf
Magazine Player of the Year
and also the 1980 winner of
the Seagrams Seven Crowns
of Sports Award.
She also did well finan-
cially off the golf tee that
year earning endorsements
from Sunkist Growers, La
Mode Sportswear and Ar-
thur Andersen and Com-
pany. Her financial worth
was close to $1 million by
1980.
By 1983, Ms. Alcott
became only the sixth LPGA
player to earn $1 million and
topped off that statistic by
winning the prestigious
A Big Money Athlete
Amy Alcott's winnings are substantial.
Only five Ladies Profes-
sional Golf Association
players earned more prize
money in their careers —
so far — than Amy Alcott,
according to the LPGA
1991 Media Guide.
In addition, according to
media sports guides, Ms.
Alcott has apparently
earned more prize money
than any Jewish female
athlete.
The big money lady
golfers are:
1. Pat Bradley
$3,346,047
2. Nancy Lopez
$3,026,470
3. Betsy King
$3,013,537
4. Beth Daniel
$2,893,482
5. Patty Sheehan
$2,830,464
6. Amy Alcott
$2,491,855
Among female Jewish
athletes, the top earners
are:
1. Amy Alcott
$2,491,855
golf
2. Nancy Lieberman
$1,300,000
basketball, retired
3. Elise Burgin
$ 602,345
tennis
4. Andrea Leand
$ 202,000
tennis
5. Judy Blumberg
$ 75,000
figure skating
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
63