Columnist Victoria Sun: Keever finds success as pro

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 | 10:36 a.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. Reach her at 259-4078 or by e-mail at victoria@lasvegassun.com.

A professional golfer's rookie season is usually the toughest.

Typically, a golfer must hope for sponsor's exemptions into PGA or LPGA tournaments and spend the rest of the time playing events on mini-tours.

Most don't make much money and the money they do make is spent on traveling expenses.

All of these factors make four-time All-America golfer Stephanie Keever's journey into professional golf all the more remarkable.

Since graduating from Stanford with a degree in sociology, the former Cimarron-Memorial High School student has made the cut in all five events -- three LPGA and two Futures Tour -- she has played in.

Over the weekend, Keever had six birdies during her final round at the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic. Her 1-under-par total 215 for the tournament put her in a logjam at 37th place with 11 others, most notably Liselotte Neumann and Dottie Pepper.

"I'm just going out and playing golf," Keever said in a telephone interview. "No different than what I did before.

"I'm just trying to be smart with every shot I make. I'm learning new things out here every day. Different ways on how to approach things, how to be patient and just how to be a professional.

"Everybody has been very, very helpful on the LPGA, like Juli Inkster and Rosie Jones. Everybody has come up and said, 'hey, how are you doing.' It's been really great. It takes a little bit of the pressure off."

This week, Keever is in York, Pa., preparing for the York Newspaper Company Futures Classic.

The biggest adjustment for her since she finished college has had little to do with golf, but more to do with traveling by herself.

Like any rookie, Keever has had periods of loneliness while being away from her family in Las Vegas and her boyfriend, Green Valley High graduate Mike Louden, who is also a professional golfer.

To adjust to life on the road, Keever sometimes travels with former Stanford teammate Jae Jean Ro and stays with host families when possible.

"I'm just trying to play the way I've played and still be myself out on the road," she said. "I think people get caught up with different things.

"It's a job, but I'm trying to enjoy every aspect of it, trying to stay in a comfortable rhythm. I made a conscious decision on how I'm going to prepare for this a long time ago so it's not like I am doing this unprepared, which is nice."

After the York tournament Keever will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to compete in the Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic, then return home for a week before leaving for the first stage of Q-School at the Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla., Aug. 21-24.

"I'm kind of basically looking at it as just another golf tournament," Keever said. "The first stage there are four rounds, the second stage four rounds.

"If I get my card, great, if not, then if I did my best and concentrated on all my shots, that's all I can do.

"I always remind myself that it's the game of golf. No matter how much you worry about it, it's not going to change what happened. You can get all (upset), but it won't do any good."

Keever's success hasn't gone unnoticed.

She is negotiating a deal with Hilfiger Golf to wear their clothes and will be featured in a live chat Aug. 21 on the LPGA's website.

She followed her opening round 75 with an 81, tying nine others with a total 156. Her score put her in a nine-person playoff for two spots.

"We played No. 7, a long par-4," Welch said. "The wind was dead into us.

"It wouldn't let up. Everyone hit drivers that went nowhere then followed with either a 3-wood, 5-wood or 7-wood.

"No one hit the green. Two people got up and down. Everyone else made all bogeys or worse. I made bogey."

Say this about the Durango High School senior: She's immensely talented.

Welch only started playing golf her freshman year of high school after she went to hit some balls with her dad.

That's when she gave up her other sports -- which included track, basketball and volleyball -- to focus on golf.

Welch won the NIAA/U.S. Bank 4A State individual title last December, which helped the Trailblazers win the school's first team championship. She has improved so much that what was once a long shot -- a golf scholarship -- is now a realistic possibility. Welch is considering Arizona, Stanford and Texas.

"I really struggled when I was younger because everybody was beating me because I started freshman high school golf," Welch said. "But I had to keep reminding myself I had only been playing golf a year, that it's not that bad and I just needed to stay with it.

"It was a struggle to keep the faith and keep working on stuff. Now it's all come together."