CONTENTS

A Flip-Flop Farce 16
Four American League West contenders met to determine if one could get the upper hand, but none of them even got a grip on itself
by Ron Fimrite

Thundering toward Another Title 22
Bill Muncey soaked it to them again, winning the Gold Cup in his drive to regain the unlimited hydroplane crown
by E. M. Swift

Nancy with the Laughing Face 24
She's more an event than a golfer now, but the dazzling Lopez still keeps cool, thanks in part to a savvy caddie named Roscoe
by Frank Deford

Bringing Up Water Baby 32
California's Mission Viejo swim club starts them young, and gives them Mark Schubert's rigid training program
by Jerry Kirshenbaum

Venerable Event, Hallowed Town 44
The British Open's return to St. Andrews is celebrated in photographs by Stephen Green-Armytage and in prose by Joseph C. Dey Jr.

Support Your Local Keeper! 76
Oakland soccer goalie Shep Messing has plenty of backing—making saves, handling snakes or chewing Styrofoam
by J. D. Reed

The Departments

Scorecard 11
Baseball 60
Movies 66
Rowing 71
For the Record 86
19th Hole 92

Credits on page 86

Cover photograph by Harry Benson

Next Week

Money! Money! Money! Big salaries, big greed and just plain big bucks are overwhelming pro sports. In the first installment of a penetrating three-part series on the growing emphasis on money in sport, Ray Kennedy and Nancy Williamson investigate the wild game called Moneyball and come up with definitive answers to questions such as: Are most teams really in the red? Are the millionaire players overpaid? Are the fans being ripped off? Plus coverage of Wimbledon and all the news.