Up from the Basement

There is lots of money to be made in professional golf--for a man, that is. A chap like North Carolina's Randy Glover didn't have to win any of last year's 37 tournaments, could wind up 19th down the money list and still take home $42,522.11. Ladies' golf, with its smaller purses and fewer tournaments, is quite something else. Unless the gal happens to be Kathy Whitworth ($28,658 in winnings last year) or Mickey Wright ($196,382 in twelve seasons) pro golf is strictly egg salad--and sometimes not much of that.

Consider the fortunes of Sandra Spuzich, 29, who fared well as an amateur and set out to make it as a pro when she tired of teaching elementary school back home in Indiana. In four years she has competed in 105 tournaments, never winning, but finishing in the top ten 28 times. Her official take-home pay: $5,493 the first year, $3,790 the second, and $8,928 last year when she ranked No. 12 on the money list. In her first twelve tournaments this year, her purses came to $2,595, barely enough to keep a girl in nylons. Was Sandra discouraged? She sure was. But she refused to quit. A St. Louis teaching pro helped her work on her swing, moving her stance closer to the ball for more length and accuracy. She asked Mickey Wright to help with her putting; Mickey caught some minute flaws and dispensed some sisterly advice. "She gave me tips to slow me down," said Sandra, "little things like remembering to take a deep breath."

Two weeks ago, Sandra went north for the tour's biggest tournament--the $20,000 U.S. Women's Open at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Nobody paid attention the first day when she shot a 75, wound up in fourth place, four strokes behind Mickey Wright. Then Mickey and the other stars started ballooning to the high 70s in the 90DEG heat. And there was Sandra coolly shooting a steady 74 the second day. Going into the final round she was actually ahead--for the first time in her pro career--with a one-stroke lead over Mickey and Carol Mann. "It's a dream," said Sandra, "I wonder when I'm going to wake up."

On the first hole she skulled a fairway wood into the rough, then three-putted for a double bogey. But that was the end of the jitters. Taking her deep breaths like Mickey told her to, she rolled in a 20-ft. birdie putt on the fourth hole, canned a 25-ft. putt for another on the seventh, chipped in from 15 ft. for still another on the 14th, and drilled a perfect 3-iron to within 18 in. of the cup to set up a fourth birdie on the 16th. She sank a seven-foot putt on the 17th for a fifth birdie. That was enough for a one-stroke victory over Carol Mann and two strokes over Mickey. "I was in the basement too long," said Sandra, accepting her $4,000 winner's check. "It's nice to get upstairs and see how the other half lives."

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