But the most intriguing aspect of
following Tami Sparks was
watching Marty watch Pat Shapiro.
As they walked between holes, the
elder pro gave sage advice and
encouragement to the young
golfer; and it was as though Marty
strained to hear what was being
said. Louise couldn't make sense
of her partner's fascination with
the coach and found herself
hanging back to take it all in.
"So what about you guys?"
"Well, we got those two folding
stools and I think we're going to
try to set up after they tee off in
the shade around two, because we
can see the second green, the
third tee and the whole sixth
fairway from there. Then after
they wrap up the front nine, we'll
probably head over to the green
at 10 or 11. When the last group
comes through, we'll go to the
bleachers on 18."
"That sounds like a plan."
Carol and Joyce emerged from
their room ready to go. "I can't
believe our vacation is almost
over," the latter said. "Two days from now, I'll be back at work."
"Just one more year, honey. Then
we'll be sleeping in every day."
With one more year at the gas
company, Joyce would increase
her pension by almost two hundred
dollars a month. Carol was already
retired from the post office.
"How much longer are you going to
work, Marty?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I feel
like what I do isn't really work at
all. I mean, if I retired, I'd
probably get up every day and go
to the golf course."
Louise had been disappointed at
first to learn that her partner had
no definite timetable for
retirement. But when they'd
discussed things in detail, she
learned that Marty was at least
financially prepared, thanks to her
IRAs and the regular
contributions to the LPGA's
pension fund by her bosses at Pine
Island and Elk Ridge. If Marty
worked two more years to 65,
they'd have plenty of money to
relax, travel, and play golf
whenever they wanted. It would be
a nice life, not far off what she'd
planned with Rhonda. But Marty
had also said she thought she'd
like to keep her toe in the water,
maybe just giving lessons part-
time.
"I think I could handle a job
where I had to go to the golf
course every day," Carol said.
"Who couldn't?" Linda concurred.
The six friends sat perfectly still
in the stands as Tami Sparks lined
up her tee shot on the first hole.
Yesterday's leader, Shelley
Coleman, had bogeyed the last two
holes, dropping into a tie for first
with Tia Johnston. Tami was four
back, in a tie for second, but her
hot round on Saturday had
prompted the tourney officials to
place her in the final group.
Marty understood the pressure
that was on the young golfer, just
as it had been on her at the Open
in 1966. But Marty hadn't had a
Pat Shapiro in her corner. Sure,
she'd had Wallace, but as her
caddy, he'd grown to be more
concerned about how they lived
day to day than what was best for
her future in golf. Looking back,
she could have used his
encouragement that day rather
than his reproach. She longed for
the chance to give that same
encouragement to Tami Sparks,
and hoped that Pat Shapiro could
do just that.
All three in the last group started
off solid, each making par on the
first five holes. The co-leaders
seemed to be holding back on this
final day, playing their most
conservative game, each hoping
the other would make a mistake.
That was exactly the opportunity
Tami Sparks needed, and Pat
pushed her through it. Number
Six was a long par five, the
entrance to the green narrowed by
sand traps at the front on both
the best position from which to
loft one onto the green. From
there, a solid putt would net a
birdie.
Tami crushed her drive, and
boldly went for the green on her
second shot. The crowd erupted in
cheers as her ball inched off the
fringe beyond the trap on the left
side. If her putting game held, she
would likely birdie the hole;
putting pressure on her opponents
to do the same.
As expected, both of the leaders
laid up, finding the green on their
third shot. Tami was away, and
shocked the crowd by sinking a
15-foot putt for eagle. Just like
that, she'd closed the gap to two.
But the leaders weren't conceding.
Johnston parred, and Coleman
birdied; Tami remained in third
place, but had netted one stroke
on the leader.
Two holes later, she picked up
another stroke on a par three; and
on the ninth hole, moved into
second place as each of her
playing partners dropped a stroke.
Heading into the back nine, she
was tied for second, one back
from the leader.
The gallery had almost doubled
since their start. When the
electronic leader boards around
the course showed the movement
in the last group, fans abandoned
their old favorites to see if
history might be made today. No
qualifier had ever won The Dinah.
"I can't believe how well Tami's
playing, Marty. She's got a real
chance to win it all." Louise was
genuinely excited to see "their"
player making her move.
"Yeah, it's great. But she's got to
keep pushing herself," Marty
agreed, hustling ahead to see if
she could catch what Pat was
saying. The coach needed to keep
Tami focused. She had to seek the
advantage and seize it, keeping
pressure on the leader to force a
mistake.
Louise drifted away from her
partner, feeling almost like she
was intruding by her presence
alone. Marty was barely aware of
the others around her, intent on
staying close to Pat.
Suddenly, Louise understood. It
wasn't about Tami at all, but about
Pat Shapiro. Marty wasn't thinking
about her collapse at the Open
almost forty years ago; she was
kicking herself for her own lost
opportunity to coach this rising
star.
And the realization that Marty
might ra
ther be back on the tour
made Louise very sad.
On Number 12, Shelley Coleman
reminded all those in attendance
why she was out in front, and why
she was the leading money-winner
on the tour this year. From 80
yards out, she dropped a wedge
shot within four inches of the
hole. Her birdie, combined with
Tami's par, stretched her lead to
two strokes.
But the young golfer reached
deeper into her resolve, returning
the favor on 14. She tightened the
screws even further when she
chipped in from the sand trap on
the 15th hole. With three holes
remaining, the two were tied. By
this time, Tia Johnston had fallen
back three strokes behind Tami
and was pretty much out of the
race.
Marty was astounded at the way
Pat had kept the golfer on an even
keel throughout the day. At 23
years old, Tami was handling the
pressure like an old pro. But the
real test came on 16, when the
young golfer's tee shot caught the
treetops on the right, falling into
the rough well behind her co-
leader's lie in the center of the
fairway.
Hanging back, Marty looked for
signs that Pat would soothe the
player's frazzled nerves. This was
no time to come unglued. Looking
ahead, she watched Tami circle
path and the angle of the incline.
The young golfer had a narrow
opening to push it into the fairway
if she nailed it precisely between
two stands of trees. But if she
caught one of the trees, the ball
might careen to an unplayable lie.
From the corner of her eye,
Marty caught another image, that
of Louise Stevens squatting low to
study the golfer's approach. She
smiled as she noticed the flat-
brimmed hat with the black band.
It was the same one the blue-eyed
woman had worn when she'd
returned to the driving range two
days after their initial prickly
meeting; the day Marty had felt
something inside her click for the
retired schoolteacher. Suddenly,
this profound longing she felt
from seeing Pat and Tami on
center stage seemed trivial and
misguided. She didn't want to be
in Pat Shapiro's shoes. All she
wanted in the world was what she
had with Louise.
The crowd exploded in applause as
Tami's second shot sailed from
the trees into the fairway. But
Marty had missed it; she'd been
watching her partner. Partner…
Out of the blue, her thoughts
wandered back to the night
before, when she'd unselfishly
climbed out of bed to go in search
of something that might help
Louise feel better. No doubt about
it, Louise Stevens brought out the
best in her, and her best had
nothing at all to do with playing
golf. Her best was giving love, and
receiving it openly in return.
As the gallery shifted forward,
Marty pushed her way through
the crowd to walk alongside the
taller woman. Without a word, she
suddenly caught Louise's left
hand, wrapping their fingers
together to feel the ring she had
proudly given as her promise of
their life together. Yes, indeed:
Louise Stevens was the only thing
she really needed to be happy, to
be fulfilled.
"That was some recovery, wasn't
it?" Louise asked.
"Oh, yeah," Marty agreed, though
her thoughts hadn't made it back
to the course yet. "I love you,
Lou."
The gray-haired woman smiled,
surprised at the sudden display of
affection and declaration of love.
But Louise wasn't the kind of
person to look a gift horse in the
mouth, and she knew Marty well
enough by now to know that
something had just happened to
trigger the abrupt change in her
behavior. Whatever it was, it was
welcome. "I love you, too."
Tami salvaged a par on 16, but her
opponent birdied and moved back
into the lead. When they both
nailed the par three 17th, the
crowd held its collective breath
for the exciting finish.
Marty and Lou moved ahead
quickly to pull up even with the
middle of the fairway on the last
hole. From here, they could see
both the tee and the pin. The 18th
green was situated on a small
island at the end of a long fairway.
A grandstand lined the right side,
and camera crews looked on from
behind the green.
All three players had driven their
tee shots down the center of the
fairway, but Tami's had gotten a
generous roll, stopping almost
thirty yards beyond the others. As
the others were away, they hit
first, laying up in front of the lake.
Excitedly, Marty explained to
Louise that the young golfer had a
chance to go for broke. A perfect
second shot could clear the water,
almost guaranteeing a birdie. But
the risk was enormous: Anything
less than perfect most likely meant
finding water and dropping two
strokes.
Louise pulled out the small
binoculars. "It looks like a four-
wood."
"She's going for it."
Several long minutes later, Tami
Sparks made the shot of her
young career. The ball sailed
cleanly over the lake, landing with
a soft thump on the deeper right
side of the green and rolling to
the back edge. The pin was
positioned on the left, but two
good putts would net a par.
Tami relaxed with her caddy as
the other two golfers hit their
third shots. Once again, Coleman
showed her skill with a nine-iron
shot that landed 10 feet from the
pin, but spun back to stop only
three feet from the hole. If she
sank the putt, she would almost
assuredly win the championship.
Johnston cleared the lake, but her
ball rolled off the back of the
green into the high fringe, just a
breath away from falling into the
water on the opposite side.
Though she was closer to the pin
than Tami, she would take the
next shot because she was not yet
on the green.
Marty and Louise hurried ahead to
find their friends in the
grandstand. As the players walked
in front of the stands to the
footbridge for what would likely
be thei
r final hole of the
tournament, the crowd stood in
unison to cheer the wonderful
play.
Johnston hit a fine chip shot that
rolled within only two feet of the
pin. To extract herself from the
drama of the thrilling finish, she
putted in and waved to an
appreciative crowd.
It was Tami's turn. The young
woman and her caddy walked the
area a dozen times, assessing the
break and the speed of the green.
Finally, she stilled with her putter
in hand. The silent crowd waited
to see if she could bring the ball
within range to birdie the hole,
perhaps forcing the leader into
sudden death.
Thirty feet of void lay between
the ball and the cup. At last, a
swift, smooth stroke sent the ball
rolling, eating up the green,
breaking at the last moment as
though it had eyes. The roar of
the crowd started when the ball
was 10 feet from the hole, the
excitement building to near
pandemonium when the tiny white
object disappeared from sight.
Eagle!
It was all Tami Sparks could do to
keep from throwing her club into
the air. She led by a stroke!
But the drama wasn't finished.
Shelley Coleman diligently
repeated the process, studying
her shot with the realization of
what was at stake. If she sank the
putt, she had to face Tami Sparks
in sudden death. If she missed,
she finished in second place.
Three feet. Three feet. Three
feet… The ball stopped at three
feet… one inch to the right of the
hole.
Qualifier Tami Sparks had just
won The Dinah.
In a long-standing tradition, the
young woman flung herself into the
lake, dragging her caddy and Pat
Shapiro along behind. It was one
of the greatest finishes in the
history of women's golf, and
Marty Beck could not have been
prouder if she'd been in the
water herself.
"Let's go congratulate them," she shouted above the roar of the
crowd. They'd have only a small
window to do so before the media
mobbed the winner as she exited
the course.
"I still can't believe that finish.
I've never seen anything like it,"
Linda gushed.
"I feel sorry for Shelley Coleman,
but I swear, it was like Tami was
fated to win," Carol said.
The six ladies sat on the
bleachers at 18 waiting for the
crowd to clear out. Traffic would
be a mess, and besides, it was nice
to have one last chance to absorb
the enchantment of their
wonderful week together.