Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium
In a splendid sliver of almost heaven that Virginia once let get away, the third Solheim starts today at The Greenbrier, which is much better known than this autumn-leafed golf event.
The Solheim is a biennial, trans-Atlantic, 10-player team competition sponsored by and named for Karsten Solheim, the Ping clubs manufacturer and better-dressed Colonel Sanders double.
The Solheim is billed as the women's Ryder Cup, and the teams from the LPGA and Women's Professional Golfers' European Tour have split the first two played in 1990 and '92.
However, this is a first for Andrews, the Lynchburg, Va., native who was a practice-round fan favorite Thursday. She even attracted more attention than Sam Snead and his dog.
The Andrews Army will grow today for her 11:10 a.m. match when more spectators arrive from the hometown of the five-time Virginia State Amateur champion.
``There are two questions people are asking,'' said JoAnne Carner, the U.S. team captain. ```What's the yardage?' and `Where's Donna?'''
Where Andrews will be today is in a glamour pairing for the alternate-shot foursome competition. Andrews and Betsy King will meet the British duo of Laura Davies, the LPGA Tour money leader, and Alison Nicholas.
``Last year, Donna told her mom and I that she wanted to go to the Solheim Cup,'' said Andrews' father, Barclay. ``We said, `Go to it? You'll be playing in it.'''
It was a forecast as accurate as their daughter's shots. Andrews won three LPGA Tour stops this season and posted 12 top 10 finishes in 23 starts - ranking first in top 10 percentage on the tour. She ranks fifth on the money list, with $429,015, and she won her first major at the Nabisco Dinah Shore in March.
``Playing here was a goal for me,'' Andrews said after spending an hour on the practice tee and putting green Thursday. ``I've worked hard to get where I am, and it's nice to be here and even nicer to have a lot of fans rooting me on.''
It will be only the third time her parents, Barclay and Helen, have seen Andrews play in person this year. Her mother didn't even see the Dinah Shore-clinching putt on television.
``I had my head in a pillow,'' Helen Andrews said.
``I watched it, and my wife yelled at me,'' Barclay Andrews said. ``If I had been at the golf course, I probably would have hidden behind a tree.''
Then, when their daughter won, she couldn't reach their Lynchburg home by phone.
``All our friends were calling for the next two hours,'' Andrews' mother said.
As much as Andrews' year has been one of success, it also has been a season of endurance and adaptation for the University of North Carolina graduate.
She has played the second half of the year with a stress fracture in one of her vertebrae. She expects to undergo extensive rehabilitation after the season.
Doctors told Andrews she should change her swing in front of her hands to relieve the strain on her back. She no longer could get her body in front of her hands, ``and she doesn't have that `big C' finish anymore,'' Carner said.
``I've always been able to adapt when needed,'' said Andrews, 27. ``I don't have the power I did and it's taken some time, but I'm starting to get comfortable with it.''
Because Andrews has been one of the most accurate players on tour, her back may hurt, but her game hasn't.
``Donna changed, but she never really played bad this year,'' Carner said. ``She's gotten to the level she's reached in a very short time. That's how talented she is.''
The weather figures to help Andrews, too. With a sunny, warm forecast for the three-day event, not only will her back loosen up, but the 6,330-yard course will play shorter than it has in damp practice rounds this week.
``It's nice to play something different [than medal play] in the off-season,'' Andrews said. ``You don't play differently. You go out as a team and have fun and try to win.
``Whether you're leaving yourself a good shot or your partner a good shot, it's no different than what we try to do every week.''
There just will be more familiar faces in the galleries.
by CNB