THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406260258
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940626 LENGTH: Long
But when it comes to crowd appeal, she still ranks right up there.
{REST} JoAnne Carner - ``Big Momma'' to those who watched her march into the LPGA Hall of Fame in the '70s and '80s - still attracts a following when she tees it up.
She'll undoubtedly draw more than a handful of onlookers Monday when she takes part in the Farm Fresh Pro-Am Golf Classic at Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach.
The Pro-Am, which begins with a shotgun start Monday morning at 8, pairs each of 28 LPGA pros with four amateur partners in a captain's choice scramble. Admission to the public is free.
Farm Fresh, which once co-hosted the Crestar-Farm Fresh Golf Classic at Greenbrier Country Club in Chesapeake, is holding this charity benefit event in part to gauge the area's interest in re-establishing an LPGA Tour stop.
Carner group should only have one concern: When they reach the 17th hole and Carner looks out over the lake that guards the green, she may be apt to cast a line in hopes of landing a big bass.
For while Carner hasn't collected a golf trophy since the 1985 Safeco Classic, she has boated her share of trophy fish.
``We're getting to that point of the season where I hang out the sign that says `Gone Fishin,' '' Carner, 55, said from Somers Point, N.J., where she's playing in the ShopRite Classic, her 11th event of the season. I haven't done a lot of fishing this season.
``It was a windy season in Florida and me and my husband are getting kind of spoiled. We don't go out when it's rough.''
As far as fishing in North America goes, Carner has just about done it all, from deep sea off the Atlantic Coast to bass fishing in the Southeast to trout fishing in Colorado to salmon fishing in Alaska - she takes an eight-day fishing trip to the 49th state every September.
``I think I'll be heading to the Bahamas shortly,'' Carner said. ``We take our 42-foot Hatteras and a 17-foot Mako down there and see what happens.''
Carner, who has 42 LPGA victories to her credit, still believes she can squeeze out a few more before she becomes a full-time angler.
Her lack of a victory in almost nine years belies the fact that she's been in contention numerous times. In the seven seasons since, she's finished second at least once in every season but one. She lost a playoff to Tammie Green at the Healthsouth Palm Beach Classic last season.
``I've probably choked a little,'' Carner laughs when discussing her foiled bids for victory No. 43. ``I used to birdie three or four holes coming in on the backside in the last rounds of tournaments. Now I might make one or two. I just can't make enough birdies at the important times.''
Additionally, Carner keeps finding herself paired with youthful adversaries who she contends ``come out onto the tour ready to win.''
``It used to be you came out here, then learned the game,'' said Carner, who will captain the U.S. team in this year's Solheim Cup, which pits the top U.S. pros against Europe's best. ``Some of these girls come out looking to win. They're terrific. The instruction they receive is so much better than it once was.
``They get here hitting it solid and there are a bunch of them who are little things but are sneaky long off the tee. Like Lisa Kiggens.''
Kiggens, 21 and the second-youngest player on the LPGA Tour, won last week's Rochester International after being in contention in nearly every tournament for the last month. Kiggens turned pro after one year of college golf at UCLA.
In a way, Kiggens can thank Carner for her early success. It was Carner who earned the country's first women's golf scholarship when she attended Arizona State. Carner remembers the days when she only had opportunity to play in five or six amateur tournaments a year.
``Now these girls can play in a tournament every week of the summer if they wish,'' she said.
Carner wasn't always dubbed ``Big Momma.'' When she was still single, she was known as JoAnne ``The Great Gundy'' Gunderson. She remained an amateur until she was 30 - the last amateur to win an LPGA event, taking the 1969 Burdine's Invitational.
Since turning pro, Carner has won $2,821,624 in official prize money and is one of 13 members of the LPGA's Hall of Fame. She defends the LPGA's tough standards for Hall of Fame induction. Players must win 30 events if they win two different major titles, 35 events with one major title and 40 with no major titles. Carner has won the U.S. Women's Open twice.
``I think the standards are just right,'' she said. ``Of course, I'm already in, so I can say that. It's the epitome of any Hall of Fame. I know there are a couple players sweating out 30 wins, but I had to win 35 because both my major titles were U.S. Opens.''
Three outstanding players - Beth Daniel, Amy Alcott and Betsy King - are on the cusp of induction while Patty Sheehan achieved Hall of Fame membership last season.
Carner takes pride in being one of only 13 players with Hall of Fame badges. LPGA players wear small badges for admittance into locker rooms and player lounges at tournaments. But that doesn't mean Carner isn't stopped by unsuspecting guards at tournaments.
``As a matter of fact, I was stopped just this week,'' Carner said. ``There are so few Hall of Fame badges that people don't recognize it.'' by CNB