Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9411160083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. VA. LENGTH: Medium
Carner's cap featured a stars and stipes motif made out of sequened material that sparkled on the sunny Greenbrier Course. It was given to her for good luck by the tour's hairdresser at a tournament in Canada.
``So I paraded around the locker room up in Canada in front of [the Europeans] and they kept trying to steal it,'' Carner laughed. ``They're still trying to steal it.''
The LPGA Hall of Famer spent her time Friday parading around the golf course, keeping tabs on the five matches in progress. Her U.S. team trails 3-2 going into today's second round of match play.
Carner, fondly known as Big Momma, knows a little bit about match-play competition. She was a five-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion and competed on four U.S. Curtis Cup teams. Overall, she had a 91 percent success rate in match-play competition.
In addition, Carner, who turned pro at the age of 30, ranks seventh on the LPGA's all-time earnings list with more than $2.7 million. She has 41 career victories and has won the Rolex Player of the Year award three times.
Yet, the outspoken Carner said she had little to give her players in the way of advice.
``There is no strategy. They're fine,'' she said. ``I'll probably talk a little with a couple players, but that's it.''
Carner's overall first impression of coaching the U.S. Solheim Cup team?
``It was so exciting, yet so nerve wracking sitting on the sideline and understanding why my husband has so many gray hairs,'' she said.
CHANGE GEARS: The players switch today to a fourball format where each player plays her own ball and the best score from each team's twosome counts against the opposing team's best score.
Members from both teams said they were looking forward to the switch from Friday's alternate shot format in which it's difficult to get rhythm or momentum going.
Members from both teams also claimed the fourball format as an advantage for their respective teams.
Sunday, the format switches to individual match play.
SMALL CHANGE: Neither Carner nor European team captain Mickey Walker made any switches in the pairings after Friday's round. However, Walker made several lineup changes for today's competition.
Walker had placed arguably the Europeans' strongest team of Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas in the fourth match Friday against Donna Andrews and Betsy King. Today, Davies and Nicholas, 2-up winners, will play in the first match against Dottie Mochrie and Brandie Burton.
Liselotte Neumann and Helen Alfredsson, in the second match Friday, will jump down to the fifth slot today against the U.S. team of Patty Sheehan and Sherri Steinhauer. Catrin Nilsmark and Annika Sorenstam will play in the second match against Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon of the U.S.
The third match stays the same with the U.S. team of Tammie Green and Kelly Robbins taking on Dale Reid and Lora Fairclough. Green and Robbins were beaten Friday 2 and 1.
In the fourth match, Andrews and King will face Trish Johnson and Pam Wright.
by CNB