Perseverance pays off in first win for Walker-Cooper

By STEVE WILLIAMS

The future is brighter now for Lee Ann Walker-Cooper.

The Cary resident, who turned pro in 1995, scored her first victory March 28, winning the Florida Hospital Classic, an event on the Futures Tour.

A final-round 69 enabled Walker-Cooper to edge Lisa Strom by two shots at Sun ‘N Lake Golf and Country Club in Sebring, Fla.

“This victory means a lot to me,” Walker-Cooper said. “Ted (coach Ted Kiegiel of Carolina Country Club in Raleigh) have been working really hard on my game over the past three years and we have come a long way together.”

She also credited the support of her father, Joe Walker.

“This win is dedicated to my dad. I have been playing golf since I was 13 and if it wasn’t for my father’s faith and confidence in my ability, I would not be where I am today. He has been with me through everything.”

Walker-Cooper has been playing on the fringes of ladies professional golf since finishing at UNC-Wilmington in 1994. She had trials on the LPGA Tour in 2000 and 2001, but didn’t make enough to claim full-time status. She won $8,972 in 2000 and $10,403 in 2001. A tie for 31st was her best finish.

She didn’t play any LPGA tour events in 2002, but a 51st place finish in LPGA Q-School last fall has again given her conditional status for this season. She has yet to qualify for an event.

Whether to try to qualify for LPGA events or continue on the Futures Tour has left Walker-Cooper at a bit of a crossroads. The Futures Tour is the “minor league” for the LPGA and its top five money winners earn full exempt status on the big tour. Bypassing Futures events for LPGA chances could end up hurting her standing on the money list. She stood third after a 21st place finish on the Futures event in Tampa, Fla. April 4-6. She skipped the Futures event in Wichita to try to qualify for the LPGA event in Stockbridge, Ga. She shot 76 in the Monday qualifier and failed to get in.

There’s not a lot of money to be made on the Futures Tour. Her win was worth $8,400 but her other two checks this year have been for $748 and $331.

But it’s a great proving ground where players just out of college quickly learn the ropes of pro tour golf. There have been numerous success stories. Lorena Ochoa, who turned pro early out of Arizona State University, was the top winner on the Futures Tour in 2002 with $53,702. She has made an immediate impact on the LPGA Tour and had won $152,464 through mid-April to rank fifth on the money list.

If they had rankings for perseverance Walker-Cooper, 31, would be near the top. This is her ninth year on the Futures Tour and she has a career cash count of $50,953. Until her win this year, her best career finish was a tie for fourth.

The victory has given her a major mental boost.

“This win has changed everything,” she said. “I have the confidence in myself to know that I can actually win out here.”

Walker-Cooper was tied for fifth going into the final round of the 54-hole event after posting 70-72.

She turned the front nine of the final round in one under and birdied No. 12 to take the outright lead for the first time.

“I had no idea I was leading until I saw the leaderboard on 15,” she said. “I was pretty nervous, but I was handling it much better than I usually do. I was just being patient and trying not to get ahead of myself.”

She birdied 16, but lost that stroke at 17.

At 18, a 520-yard par-5, she hit her third shot with an 8-iron to within 6 feet and made the putt for a 2-shot margin.

“I knew I had to make that birdie putt on 18,” Walker-Cooper said. “Lisa (Strom) is a very strong player and I would not have been surprised if she would have made an eagle on that final hole to tie me.”

After trying for that breakthrough win for nine years, she certainly didn’t want to count anything until all the scores were in.