Davies, Webb zero in on $1 mil. mark at D.I.

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

There will be more than pride and a few titles on the line when the top 30 golfers from the LPGA Tour tee it up this week in the inaugural ITT LPGA Tour Championship at the Desert Inn Golf Club.

Laura Davies, who already has clinched the 1996 Rolex Player of the Year Award, and Karrie Webb, the 1996 Rolex Rookie of the Year, are attempting to become the first LPGA players to win $1 million in a single season. A win and the $150,000 first-place check in the Tour Championship would push either past the $1 million mark in earnings.

And make no mistake about it, Davies said her primary motivation this week is to capture the LPGA Tour money title. The 33-year-old Briton already has won the money title on the ladies European Tour.

"I would like to win the LPGA money title," Davies said. "I have already won the (Womens Professional Golfers' European Tour) money title. Annika Sorenstam won both money titles last year and I'd like to do it this year.

"I put more significance on the money list than player of the year. When everyone talks about professional sports and reads about it, they talk about the money. That is why the money title is important to me."

Davies comes into the $700,000 season-ending event with an LPGA Tour-record $897,302 and leads the second-place Webb ($852,000) by $45,302. Sorenstam is third in earnings with $792,311 and also has a shot at claiming the LPGA money title this week.

Unlike Davies, Sorenstam said she places less emphasis on the money title.

"I think three awards are very important -- the money title, the Rolex Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy (for scoring average)," Sorenstam said. "I think they all mean a lot. The player of the year and the Vare, to me, are more important because they show consistency.

"A lot of people look at the money list but it can be deceptive because much of it depends on which tournaments you played in."

Although Davies can capture the money title with a strong showing in Las Vegas, she isn't eligible for the Vare Trophy because she will lack the minimum number of rounds (70) to qualify for the award because of her play on the European Tour. Not qualifying has been the one disappointment in a season that has included four wins, eight top-10 finishes and a tour-leading 70.39 scoring average.

"I'm going to come up two rounds short after the ITT LPGA Tour Championship," Davies said. "If you play the minimum 15 events on the tour, you should be eligible to win it. Obviously, I'm not happy not to win it and not to win it on a technicality is a bit disappointing."

A win this weekend, however, would go a long way to easing Davies' disappointment.

Chip shots ...

* LPGA ODDS & ENDS: By virtue of her runner-up finish in the Toray Japan Queens Cup, Laura Davies set an all-time LPGA Tour record for most money earned in a single season. The record previously was held by Beth Daniel, who earned $863,578 in 1990. ... Although Davies or Karrie Webb can become the first LPGA player to earn $1 million in a single season with a win this week, Daniel earned more than $1 million during a 12-month period between 1989 and 1990. ... A record 61 players surpassed $100,000 mark in earnings this season on the LPGA Tour. The previous record was 58 players in 1995.

* AROUND THE GREEN: SouthShore Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas, the site of next week's Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, has been ranked sixth on Golf Digest's list of the Best New Private Courses for 1996. The magazine ranks the best courses in the Private, Affordable Public (greens fees of $50 or less) and Upscale Public (greens fees above $50) categories in its December issue. SouthShore was the only course in Nevada ranked this year. ... Lorraine Acord and Dean Acord of Las Vegas will be among 342 amateur golfers from across the country competing in the Lexus Champions for Charity National Championship Dec. 5-7 in La Quinta, Calif. The Acords will represent Prevent Blindness Utah in the three-day team event. ... A new Internet service allows golfers to track their golf scores, keep personal statistics and maintain a handicap from their personal computer. GolfCap is a subscription service ($14 per year). The service, however, is not sanctioned by the USGA for certified handicaps but is useful for the casual, non-tournament golfer. The address for GolfCap is http://GolfCap.com.