Respected Swede has a sense of mission

According to her friends, Pia Nilsson is a wonderfully sane, thoughtful and caring woman. Such a glowing assessment makes it all the more gratifying that in her capacity as head coach of her national federation, she enthusiastically supports the establishment of a Swedish Golf Academy in this country. On meeting her earlier this week, it wasn't difficult to understand her status as a greatly respected figure in the game. I learned that modesty is another of her strong suits, as was evident from an incident she related regarding a previous visit to this country in 1990.It concerned the staging of the European Junior Women's Championship at Shannon GC, where the six-member Swedish team advanced to the final against England. Nilsson, who was non-playing captain of the side, faced the unenviable task of omitting one of her players from the five afternoon singles.She recalled: "As I was about to wrestle with the problem, it was solved when a member of my team came to me and said: `Everybody is playing so well, I will be happy to stand down."' So it was that Sweden went on to capture the title without the help of Annika Sorenstam.Nilsson smiled at the memory. Four years later, Sorenstam was voted "Rookie of the Year" on the LPGA Tour. In 1995 she became "Player of the Year", after winning the first of two successive US Women's Professional Open titles. Since then, she has become acknowledged as one of the finest players in the history of the game.Like her contemporaries, she owes much to Nilsson, who graduated to her current position as Sweden's Director of Golf in 1995. Her own playing career involved a scholarship to ArizonaState University followed by four years on the LPGA Tour, starting in 1983. Though she won eight Swedish tournaments, she was prepared to accept that she "hadn't the tools to do it" on the American tour."As a golfer, you have a mission, which has to be clearly defined," she said. "You need to know your strengths and take the consequences of your actions. And it is how you interpret what happens that is of prime importance."She went on: "You must separate your tournament performances from who you are as a person. Don't judge yourself on your results on the golf course, otherwise your self-confidence can disappear down the drain. You must learn to value yourself, whether you shoot 65 or 85."Among other things, Nilsson is a qualified rules official with Swedish and American certificates. "My appointment to my present position caused some turmoil but that didn't bother me," she concluded. "The aim is for Sweden to become a leading golf nation and it is my job to make it happen.""I ACHIEVED all I wanted in my career in one year, but I am not special. I come from a small town near Stockholm and I talk to the leaves." - Annika Sorenstam.I MUST confess to feelings of guilt since squeezing a cheque out of Martyn Turner for a driver which was redundant to my needs. As a colleague, I suppose I should have given it to him as a gift, but he wanted the club so desperately that I felt obliged to exploit my advantage.Now I have the chance to make amends. As it happens, the esteemed cartoonist of The Irish Times is among the artists featured by The Art in Sport in their splendid collection. Along with creations by sculptor John Behan and painter Nina Patterson, among others, Turner's work - his "Moses at a Lateral Water Hazard" is a particular delight - can be viewed at 1a Grantham St/Camden St, Dublin 8 (01 4750044).Turner informs us that his professional golfing career was cut short after two and a half days, when his mother found out and sent him back to school. Sadly, he didn't have access at that time to Art in Sport's Definitive Golfer's Handbook, which has a foreword by Joe Carr, an anecdote on every page and full details of the 367 golf clubs in this country.WHEN Eddie Brennan was departing as Delgany's captain at last Friday's a.g.m., he gently pointed to his involvement in the only trophy won by the club this year. Indeed he was humble enough to act as a caddie, as did Frank Donnolly, his successor as club captain.The inaugural Team Golf International, which had its climax at Valderrama recently, was, in fact, captured by 12handicapper David Fox and his 13-handicap partner, Seamus Whelan. And Brennan and Donnolly travelled to Spain at their own expense to act as caddies.Organised by Michael Carr of Warrenpoint, the event was played for the most part as a two-man Texas scramble,certainly for the Irish qualifying section. For the three-day international final in Spain, however, the first and third rounds at Sotogrande and Valderrama were better-ball strokes while the second round at Atalaya Park was a scramble.Receiving 10 strokes, or 40 per cent of their combined handicap, Fox and Whelan shot an impressive 60 in the scramble. Then, off three-quarters, they had better-ball scores of 69 and 72 at Sotogrande and Valderrama, for a total of 201 overall."It was a wonderful experience, especially since neither of us are teenagers," said Fox. "Our scramble score was the key and we eventually won by eight strokes from a team from the north-east of England." The winners each received a trophy depicting the spectacular, long fourth at Valderrama.WHEN ONE of your greens is virtually destroyed by salt water, as happened to the 15th at The European Club last winter, it tends to focus the mind on seeking a solution. Which is what eventually led Pat Ruddy to contact Pebble Beach on California's Pacific coast."With two of the most exposed holes in golf, the short seventh and the long 18th, I figured they must have found a way of coping with the sea," said The European's commander-inchief. Indeed they had - by flushing the affected areas with fresh water.When Ruddy informed them he had done this, they enquired: "For how long?" For about an hour, they were told.

Whereupon they instructed that it would be necessary to do it for eight hours, to successfully flush the salt away. Ruddy commented: "I took their advice and it seems to be working splendidly."NANCY LOPEZ has become only the ninth woman to be honoured with the Bob Jones Award, which has been presented annually since 1955 for distinguished sportsmanship in golf. "I'm humbled when I look at those who have won this award before me - golf legends such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Glenna Collett Vare and Patty Berg," said Lopez, winner of 48 professional tournaments.She could also have included Joe Carr (1961) as the only Irish recipient. In the event, the award goes some way towards easing the pain of yet another failed attempt at capturing the elusive US Women's Open crown. She was runnerup for a fourth time at Pumpkin Ridge last July, when Alison Nicholas triumphed.Lopez has been winning tournaments since she was 12. USGA president July Bell, who also happens to be a friend, said of her: "She embodies the highest ideals of sportsmanship, generosity and grace and exemplifies these compelling qualities in the actual arena, where the pressureis greatest."THIS DAY IN GOLF HISTORY . . . On December 13th, 1987, Orville Moody shot a second round of 67 to win the rainshortened Kaanapali Classic in Hawaii, with a 36-hole score of 132 - 12 under par. So ended any lingering doubts about the merit of the broomhandle putter which he had adopted two years previously to overcome the yips.Moody, who was US Open champion in 1969, gained two victories on the Senior Tour in 1984, his rookie season. But it was only after the change to the long putter that further successes came in 1987 with the Rancho Murieta Senior Gold Rush and then the Kaanapali Classic. He went on to gain a total of 11 victories, including the US Senior Open in 1989.TEASER: A player's ball is eight feet off the ground, lodged in a tree. The player declares the ball unplayable. May the player proceed under option "b" of Rule 28 which permits him to drop a ball within two club-lengths of where his ball lay unplayable?ANSWER: Yes. The player would be entitled to drop a ball within two club-lengths of the point on the ground immediately below the place where the ball lay in the tree. In some instances, this may allow the player to drop a ball on a putting green.