Notebook

Lorie Kane: LPGA Bridesmaid
SECOND THOUGHTS

Second sucks, says Tiger Woods, who at 24 has already won 17
times on the PGA Tour. But for Lorie Kane, 35, coming in second
will have to do. She has been runner-up nine times in her five
years on the LPGA tour but has never won. If Kane finishes
second once more before she wins, she will tie Laura Baugh for
most seconds without a victory. (The longest such streak on the
men's Tour belongs to Tommy Aaron and David Frost, who had been
runner-up eight times before winning.)

Although no one has started calling her Avis, Kane was referred
to as the LOVABLE LOSER in a headline in The Toronto Star
earlier this year. That jab did not remove the easy smile that
has made the native of Prince Edward Island, Canada, a favorite
among her peers, not that it has been easy coping with
near-success. "People are very supportive, but when I keep
hearing, 'This is your week,' or 'It's your turn,' it gets a
little nerve-racking," says Kane, whose biggest win came in the
1991 Mexican Amateur.

Sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who counseled Pat Bradley,
David Duval and Nick Price when they were struggling to break
through, says what Kane is experiencing is par for the course.
"That happens to every athlete who doesn't win right away," he
says. "Everybody has something to say, and that can get into
your head. You have to have a mind of your own."

Rather than avoid the issue, Kane deals with it openly. She
admits that last year, as playing captain of the LPGA team that
took on Japanese pros in October's Nichirei International, she
worried that she would somehow pass on her propensity for coming
in second to her teammates. "I caught myself and realized what I
was carrying around inside," she says. "That's when I said,
'This has got to stop.' You can't be afraid to talk about it. If
you are, there's a problem."

Kane, who finished 16th at last week's Welch's/Circle K
Championship in Tucson, seven shots behind winner Annika
Sorenstam, has averaged a sterling 68.33 in the final rounds of
the tournaments in which she has finished second. She has also
been luckless in four playoffs, including the one at the '99 JAL
Big Apple Classic, in which Sherri Steinhauer stayed alive with
a long putt and then won with a 35-foot bomb for birdie on the
fifth extra hole.

Kane may be pressing. The first 11 times she began the final
round within five strokes of the lead, she broke 70 on six
occasions. In the 23 subsequent times she has only three rounds
under 70.

The book on Kane is that she has a high-risk style of course
management. JoAnne Carner has counseled Kane on reducing her
bogeys by understanding the percentages as well as improving her
skills around the greens. Says Kane, "Amy Alcott told me that
when I win, I'll look back and realize it was the par saves and
not the birdies that were the key."

Even Kane's critics believe she will someday become a regular
winner. Unlike Baugh, who lacks the length to contend
consistently, Kane is a powerful player with one of the best
swings on tour. She has lowered her scoring average every
season, and her 70.62 last year was the LPGA's fifth-best. "If I
keep bringing that down," Kane says, "winning will take care of
itself."

Kane's challenge is to remain patient. Her frequent practice
partner, Nancy Lopez, tells Kane, "Keep going forward. Don't
rush. You've got a lot of wins in that heart of yours." Lopez
also points out that along with her 48 victories are 50 seconds.

"What I like about Lorie is that she keeps putting herself in
position to win," says Rotella. "The grief she gets from coming
close is not causing her to pull back. She's getting to know how
her insides work very well. When she does win, she'll understand
better than other players how to do it again." Rotella says
that's what happened to Duval, who followed seven second-place
finishes with three victories in a row.

What makes Kane's case different is her age. She didn't join the
LPGA until she was 31 and now is feeling a sense of urgency.
That was evident at last month's Australian Ladies Masters. Kane
shared the 54-hole lead but couldn't make a birdie over the last
17 holes. When, on 18, she learned that Karrie Webb had made a
birdie ahead of her to take the lead, Kane cursed loudly enough
to quiet the gallery.

That kind of response was reminiscent of Tom Watson, who also
had difficulty winning early in his career. When asked what
turned him around, he said, "I decided that I hated to lose." In
other words, second sucks.

Hall of (Ho-Hum) Fame
SORENSTAM'S IN, IN FOUR YEARS

After Annika Sorenstam rolled in a four-foot birdie putt to beat
Pat Hurst on the second hole of a playoff at the Welch's/Circle
K Championship in Tucson, there were no tears, no champagne, no
jumping for joy--even though Sorenstam had just earned enough
points to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. The response was
muted because, despite Sorenstam's 19 wins, three Vare Trophies
(for scoring average) and three player of the year awards, she
has not been an LPGA member for the required 10 years and
therefore will have to wait until 2004 to be inducted. "I could
miss every cut from here on and people might forget," she said,
"so today is anticlimactic."

After the LPGA watered down the entrance requirements last year,
Sorenstam, 29, moved close to qualifying. Karrie Webb, who is
going for her fourth straight win this week, also benefited from
the relaxed criteria. She is only four points shy of the Hall,
and she's four years younger than Sorenstam. "Karrie is probably
going to qualify this year, too," said Sorenstam. "The hardest
part about getting into the Hall of Fame for us will be the
waiting."

Sorenstam, who lost in a playoff to Webb two weeks ago, joked
that she might take a few years off, then, turning serious, said
her goal is to make the Hall under the old criteria: 30 wins.
"Just because I have enough points doesn't mean I am going to
slow down," she said. "Thirty wins is totally possible."
--Tom Hanson

COLOR PHOTO: J.D. CUBAN A runner-up nine times, Kane is closing in on a dubious honor.

COLOR PHOTO: DARREN CARROLL

COLOR PHOTO: DEBORA ROBINSON

COLOR PHOTO: JIM MIDGETT

COLOR PHOTO: MICHAEL PRICE

Academy Awards
AND THE ENVELOPE PLEASE...

Dave Stockton (a.k.a. Junior) and Omar Uresti (O-Man) are the
Siskel and Ebert of the PGA Tour. They each see up to five
movies a week but for different reasons. Stockton (far right)
goes to the show out of "pure boredom," he says. "You've got to
do something." Uresti's affinity for film is a family matter.
"When you're named after your mother's favorite actor--Omar
Sharif--you're going to grow up with an interest," he says. With
the Academy Awards on March 26, we asked Junior and O-Man for
their Oscar picks.

BEST PICTURE

O-Man: The Green Mile. I'm a big Stephen King fan, and the movie
was faithful to the book. Mile also impressed me more than any
of the other nominees.

Junior: The Sixth Sense. I like a surprise ending, and this one
had a nice twist. Sorry, O-Man, but The Green Mile was way too
long. I'm tired of three-hour movies.

BEST ACTOR

O-Man: Denzel Washington. Not only was The Hurricane a good
movie, but it is also time for Denzel to win an Oscar. But watch
out for Kevin Spacey (American Beauty).

Junior: Two putters up for Denzel, though Tom Hanks should've
been nominated for The Green Mile.

BEST ACTRESS

O-Man: Annette Bening (American Beauty), but to be honest, we
didn't see a lot of chick flicks.

Junior: Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry). Bening portrayed a psycho
well, but I'm taking a dark horse. Swank deserves an Oscar just
because she had to play a girl trying to be a guy.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

O-Man: Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense). Very impressive, and
how old is he? Eleven?

Junior: I agree, Haley Joel Osment. Sometimes they don't give
the Oscar to kids, but he can flat-out act, and he made the movie.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

O-Man: Sorry, but that's not one of my areas of expertise.

Junior: Snow Falling on Cedars. Awesome. The colors of the trees
and the natural scenery were especially well done.

VISUAL EFFECTS

O-Man: The Matrix. I refuse to be brainwashed, like Junior, and
pick Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The effects
weren't as realistic as in the original Star Wars, and I was
really disappointed. You could tell the effects were done by
computer.

Junior: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Are you kidding
me? Have you watched the original lately? It looks as if they
threw some toys up in the air. I thought the special effects in
Phantom Menace were great, and the movie took me on a ride.

Trust Me

When Brian Gay's lip-hanger on the 71st hole at the Honda finally
fell, everyone with an NBC mike rushed to score it as a birdie.
Instead of a long count by Gary Koch and flimflam by Johnny
Miller, the moment cried out for unflinching analysis by the
alleged expert, Roger Maltbie. Remember: If you're going to
broadcast this game, you've got to know the rules.

Threesomes

What do these players have in common?

--Ben Crenshaw
--Greg Norman
--Payne Stewart

They were the only golfers named on at least 50% of the ballots
in voting for entry into the World Golf Hall of Fame, but none
got the needed 75%. Norman was named on 70.1%, Stewart on 64.3%
and Crenshaw on 50.9%.

Feedback

Who does the best job of televising golf?

ABC 16%
CBS 43%
NBC 17%
ESPN 13%
Golf Channel 12%

--Based on 1,785 responses to our informal survey Next question:
Do you agree with the appeals court decision allowing Casey
Martin to keep riding a cart? Vote at golfplus.cnnsi.com.

Thesaurus

SYNONYMS for a TANTRUM

Bat s---, chili running hot, China Syndrome, full Tommy Bolt (or
Ky Laffoon), le rump rouge, Mount St. Helens, scanners, tierra
del fuego, throwing a Cookie, tuning fork, volcano, whirlybird

Numbers

With three straight wins, Karrie Webb is still two shy of Nancy
Lopez's LPGA record set in 1978, but Webb's stats during her run
are in some cases better than Lopez's.

Lopez Webb

Scoring Average 69.88 69.27
Subpar Rounds 12 of 17 10 of 11
Avg. Victory Margin 2.8 1.7
Earnings $73,500 $345,000

Faces

Ian Nelson, Canyon Lake, Calif.
Ian, 17, has won three of the four International Junior Golf
Tour events he has entered this year, the Kiawah Island (S.C.)
Championship, the Cactus Shootout and last week's California
Baja Championship--all in playoffs. He has a 73.9 stroke average
and leads the tour's merit standings by 1,400 points, with 6,200.

Angela Stanford, Saginaw, Texas
Stanford, a senior at Texas Christian, won her third individual
title of the season and the eighth of her career--both school
records--while leading the Horned Frogs to victory in the
Midwest Classic in Dallas. Stanford, Texas Christian's 1998-99
Athlete of the Year, shot a 10-over 226 to beat Emily Gilley of
Northwestern by a stroke.

Frank Dobbs, Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Dobbs, 38, an assistant pro at Club Med in Port St. Lucie, won
the PGA Match Play at PGA Golf Club with a 3-and-2 victory over
Mark Brown, the head pro at Tam O'Shanter in Brookville, N.Y.
Dobbs birdied five of the 16 holes in the match. In 1997 Dobbs
won the PGA Stroke Play title and was South Florida PGA Section
player of the year.

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