Golf Legend Nancy Lopez On Her Life, Career and Potential Return to Seattle

It’s Nancy Lopez.

Honestly, that’s all I should have to write in this space, where I introduce our interview subject, and highlight some of their most significant accomplishments.

When ESPN profiled the greatest athletes of the 20th century for its “SportsCentury” series, only one women’s golfer was included — Lopez. For the better part of two decades, from her rookie season in 1978 — when she won nine times, including a record five straight, one of which was the LPGA Championship — through her final LPGA Tour win, in 1997, Lopez was to women’s golf what Tiger Woods would later become, the one player that everyone in the field was always aware of, and every fan was most eager to see. Following that incredible rookie season — one of the best in golf history, full stop — Lopez went on to win a total of 48 LPGA tournaments and three major championships, and represented the United States in multiple Solheim Cups.

Lopez won so much, in fact, that she had to wait six months for induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame after winning her 35th career tournament — the hall stipulates that, in addition to the wins threshold, you must have been active for at least 10 years, and she was still in her first decade on Tour.

Lopez was scheduled to return to professional golf at White Horse this May, joining her longtime LPGA Tour friends and rivals at the Legends Tour’s Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup. Instead, the event has been rescheduled for next year, May 27-29, 2021.

Y’all, it’s Nancy Lopez! Enjoy.

CG: Next year will be your first time playing in the Suquamish event. What are you looking forward to?

Lopez: “It’s fun to be able to compete, but it’s also fun to just see my fellow professionals that I played with and against many, many years ago. I love to play, but I don’t know that I work on my game as much as some of the other ladies do; I don’t get to play on the Legends Tour as much, due to scheduling. The last time I played in Seattle was on the LPGA Tour (at Meridian Valley), and I never seemed to play well there. The greens just kicked me in the butt. But, I love Seattle. It’s a great place to play golf and I look forward to being there. ”

CG: We’re obviously big Joanne Carner fans here. Do you have any good Big Momma stories to share?

Lopez: “Joanne Carner was my idol. Growing up, I wanted to be just like her. She was a great competitor and had a ton of positive energy. You could never tell if she was playing good or bad, because she always seemed to be having a great time. Sometimes I’d beat her, or she’d beat me, but she was always so kind to me, and very supportive, and always treated me with grace and respect. I learned a lot from her. She can still hit it, too; it’s fun to watch her.”

CG: Did you feel a responsibility at the time to help raise the profile of women’s golf?

Lopez: “Absolutely. When I started winning, I felt it quickly — the pressure of having to go to press conferences, and do whatever I could to help my Tour grow. There were days when I maybe didn’t want to do another thing, but I knew that it wasn’t about me, it was about the Tour, and what was going to help it grow. And, that’s the same for Carner and all of the other great players of that era. One of our mantras then was to leave the Tour better than we found it, and they definitely did that.”

CG: What do you think it was that set you apart from your peers at the time, competitively?

Lopez: “When I won tournaments, it was about attitude. I’d be head-to-head against certain players and they’d hit a bad shot or get mad about something, and I could tell right then that they weren’t going to make it back. My dad always taught me that golf wasn’t going to be an easy game, and you weren’t going to hit every shot perfect, and so you needed to be resilient. I think I accepted that better than most players, and I owe that to my dad.”

CG: Was he the one who taught you the game?

Lopez: “Yes, and he was not a professional; he owned an auto body repair shop. He just had a lot of golf sense. I am so lucky that I was able to share my success with him. He was my best friend, and always supported me. Whether I failed or was successful, he was always positive and made me feel that I could achieve anything I wanted to.”

CG: Were you surprised at how successful you were as a rookie, or was it all part of your plan?

Lopez: “No, I was totally surprised. I had spent years trying to climb to No. 1 in the amateur rankings, and so when I went on the LPGA Tour, I expected the road to be just as hard. My goal that first year was to win one tournament. After I won my first one, I was like, ‘Wow, this was fun!’ Then, I started winning a lot more, and the whole world opened up to me through golf. It was a really fun time.”

CG: Despite winning 48 tournaments, you only made about $5 million. Do you ever see purses now and think you were born too soon?

Lopez: “Well, when I was playing on the LPGA Tour, I thought I was lucky to be born then! I was the first player to make $200,000 in one season, and that was very exciting. But, I was able to make a lot of money off the golf course, as well, through corporate contracts and other things, so I wouldn’t a change a thing. I’m blessed to be where I am.”

CG: How’s your golf game these days? What changes have you had to make as you’ve gotten older?

Lopez: “Not bad! I have two new knees, which has allowed me to start using my legs again. Mentally, I’ve had to adjust to the fact that I’m not hitting it as far as I used to. That’s an ego-buster, because I used to be a long hitter. So, I have to take that disk out of my brain and put in the new one that reminds me to find other ways to score well besides just hitting it long.”

CG: If you were able to go back and talk to that 12-year-old girl in New Mexico who was about to go win her first amateur championship and launch one of the greatest careers in golf, what advice would you give to her?

Lopez: “Wow, good question. I’d talk to her about how fast I had to grow up. By age 19, I was already in the press room talking about golf and trying to explain my feelings, at a time when I was still so young. Learning how to slow down and not grow up so fast is something I wish I could have done, but with the career I had, there wasn’t any time to stop and do that. My golf game controlled where I was going, and I was just along for the ride.”