How About That Mann?

Carol Mann, 27, is a 6-ft. 3-in. mini-skirted blonde who loves popcorn, Mission: Impossible and Andre Kostelanetz. She professes to a belief that "positive thinking is the key to success," and she confesses to "a burning desire to set up housekeeping and start having babies." But patio parties and the P.T.A. will have to wait. For Carol is a traveling salesman's daughter, and she took up golf at eleven because "I only got to see my father on weekends; since he was a golfer I figured this would be a good way to be with him."

It was. But now if Dad wants to see Carol, he has to follow her around. She is the hottest performer on the ladies' pro tour. Last week she sank a 12-ft. birdie putt on the last hole to win the $11,500 Shreveport, La., Kiwanis Club Open and walk off with her third victory in a row, a feat topped by only one other female pro in history: Mickey Wright, who twice won four straight --and lost to Carol by one stroke last week.

Like Carol, the ladies' tour has come a long way in a short time. In 1961, only $186,000 in prize money was at stake; this year the total is up to more than $500,000. Carol Mann's victory at Shreveport earned her $1,725, boosted her 1968 earnings to $9,550, tops on the tour. By contrast, Tom Weiskopf, the No. 1 moneywinner on the men's circuit, has already earned $73,322 this year--almost 75% of what Carol has won in her eight years as a pro.

But if Carol cannot yet afford to buy her own jet, like Arnie Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, her golf winnings do allow her to indulge her penchant for thigh-high, pastel-colored skirts ("I wear miniskirts and maxi-legs"). And if worse comes to worst, she can always pick up a little change by challenging men to a driving contest. Probably the longest hitter on the ladies' tour, Carol consistently belts her drives 250 yds. or more, and there is little wrong with the rest of her game. Last month, in Atlanta's Lady Carling Open, she shot 66-66-68 for a 54-hole total of 200--16 under par and the lowest score ever recorded in a ladies' tournament.

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