Webb, Sorenstam in race for money

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1997 | 10:58 a.m.

The race is on and the winner isn't likely to emerge until the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour reaches Las Vegas.

At stake: The 1997 money championship.

And the gap between the leading contestants closed over the weekend when defending money champion Karrie Webb won for the third time this year. As it stands, she has $885,493 in '97 earnings and trails only Annika Sorenstam, who has four victories and $965,039.

"This is the year I'd hoped I'd have," Webb said during a brief visit to Las Vegas to promote the ITT LPGA Tour Championship that will be held Nov. 20-23 at the Desert Inn Golf Club. "I'm happy with it. It's tough to back up a good year and the fact that I have shows I've improved."

Improving on her 1996 season -- her first on the tour -- seemed such a daunting task that Webb came into the year prepared for failure. After all, she won six times last year and became the first LPGA player to crack the $1-million mark in single-season earnings.

A four-stroke victory over Kelly Robbins gave Webb the '96 Tour Championship at the D.I., plus the $150,000 she won that afternoon enabled her to finish with an unprecedented $1,002,000 for the year.

"I'm going to come to the point where I'm not going to get any better," she said of her preseason fears. "It's too hard to set goals, although I definitely wanted to win at least once this year.

"Now I'm expected to win, but I could have a year where I finish 35th. I think I'm going to have a year like that sometime."

But that "sometime" seems far away today with Webb and Sorenstam once again dominating the women's tour. Sorenstam got off to a blazing start, winning three times in the first 10 LPGA events of the year, and now Webb has won twice in five events to turn the money chase into a two-horse race.

"The first part of the year I was glad to have Annika getting the attention," Webb said. "It sort of just let me play golf."

She's playing very well as the season passes the two-thirds mark. Sunday in Kent, Wash., the 22-year-old Australian rallied with a closing 67 to win the Safeco Classic and the $82,500 that went with it.

The top-10 finish was her 18th this year in 21 events.

"It could come down to this tournament again," she said of winning the money title at the Desert Inn. "I obviously love this golf course. It has great memories."

The D.I. has a lengthy association with the women's, men's and senior men's tours dating from 1953. Tickets for this year's LPGA event are on sale with a season badge going for $49 and daily tickets priced at $15.

"This is a course that has a few holes that favor length," Webb said. "But it's also one that rewards ball striking, and ball striking is always what keeps me in contention."

She stands No. 2 on the tour this year in greens in regulation, trailing only Robbins. Webb is also No. 1 in scoring average (69.92) and No. 2 in birdies.

The top 30 money leaders at the close of the LPGA regular season will qualify for the Tour Championship in Las Vegas.

"This tournament might not be regarded as a major but it's a reward for having a good year," Webb said. "You can get some extra cash. Winning here last year was probably the best moment of my life."