By Craig Potter
The Hall of Famer is here for the 2nd annual Danielle Downey Classic going on at Brook-Lea CC.
GATES, N.Y. – If there were one place on the LPGA Tour that Nancy Lopez tried to make every year, it was Rochester.
“It’s always great to come back to Rochester, “ Lopez said. “People are just fantastic, and it’s nice that they support the LPGA Tour and have a Symetra Tour event here.
“It’s great to give these young ladies a chance to reach their dream and get back out on or on the LPGA Tour for the first time.
The LPGA Hall of Fame member is a 48-time LPGA Tour winner, including three championships at Locust Hill Country Club; She set the record for consecutive wins (5) in 1978 when as a rookie she captured the Banker’s Trust Classic at LHCC for the fifth win. The record was tied by Annika Sorenstam in 2005.
From that time forward, Rochester audiences always embraced Lopez, and in return, Lopez has a soft spot for Rochester.
Lopez returned to the Flower City this week to be a part of the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic for the second consecutive year. Tournament play begins on Thursday in the 72-hole event on Downey’s home course at Brook-Lea Country Club.
“It’s a great golf course,” said Lopez. “Good greens, it’s in great shape. They’ve done a great job with it.”
The Symetra Tour represents the 40th consecutive year a LPGA event has taken place in Rochester.
“It’s always nice to play and to be out here with the amateurs,” said Lopez.
In 2014, the final year of the Wegmans LPGA Championship in Rochester, Lopez was forced to miss that tournament as she was slated to appear in a Legends event that week. The tournament also changed locations that year as Monroe Golf Club served as host for the event.
However, she came to Rochester and Brook-Lea Country Club for the inaugural Danielle Downey Classic as the Honorary Chair last year, and was thrilled to be coming back for this year’s tournament.
“I knew Danielle just a little but what I did know of her, she was just a really special person,” Lopez said. “She was at Auburn, and that’s where all my three girls went to school, so I was in Auburn when she was there.
“Coach (Kim) Evans, who was the golf coach there, thought the world of her and she was just a quality person. Unfortunately her young life was cut short. I hated that when I read about it.”
Lopez continued, “It’s very nice that they put on a valid tourney because she’s from here. I think it makes it more special because we’ll always have her in our memory.”
Through her illustrious career, Lopez has appeared on the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated. She still is the only golfer to win the Rookie of the Year Award, Player of the Year Award, and Vare Trophy in the same year. Throughout her storied career, throngs of adoring fans – known as “Nancy’s Navy” – enjoyed following Lopez around the golf course wherever she played.
Lopez participated in the Pro-Am on Wednesday, playing 9 holes. She teed off early in the morning to help avoid the hot and humid conditions that developed as the day went on.
When asked how often she gets in a round of golf, Lopez said, “I try to play a lot. My body hurts a lot more than it used to so there are good days and bad days, but you just play even if you’re hurting.
“Because I love the game, I participate any way that I can, so I try and keep playing as much as I can.”
The Georgia native resides in Florida, so she is able to play year-around.
“I really don’t have an off-golf season,” she said. “I have become a more fair-weather golfer so if it’s gonna rain or be a hundred, I don’t play,” she said with that characteristic laugh and smile. “Otherwise I like to keep playing.
“I like to ski in the wintertime though my knees are not really good, but I have a home up in Colorado that when I can ski, I’m going to keep trying to do that too.”
Lopez said that she has three daughters and her oldest, who also lives in Florida, has given her grandchildren.
“Molly is 4 and Hunter is 4-months,” said the proud grandma. “It’s pretty neat to have that other life now.”
Lopez’s middle daughter lives in Atlanta and her youngest is in Birmingham, AL.
About Danielle Downey
Danielle Downey was a decorated golfer, a Spencerport native, and assistant coach of the Auburn Tigers golf team.
“The LPGA Tour is deeply saddened about the passing of long-time member and friend, Danielle Downey who was killed in a single car accident last night (Jan. 30, 2014) in Auburn, Alabama. Danielle played on the LPGA Tour from 2006 through the 2010 season,” read the official statement from the LPGA.
Downey began her professional career on the Symetra Tour in 2003 and recorded 7 top 10 finishes and a victory at the 2004 Lima Memorial FUTURES Golf Classic. She played on the LPGA Tour from 2006 to 2010 where she recorded a career-best fourth place finish at the 2008 Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Following her professional career as a player, Downey caddied on the LPGA for Sarah Kemp and Laura Diaz before returning to her alma matter of Auburn University when head coach Kim Evans was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Downey stepped-in and led the Auburn Tigers to a berth in the NCAA Championship where they finished sixth, the team’s best showing in the tournament in eight years.
Danielle played at Auburn from 1999-2003, earning All-America honors in 2000, 2002 and 2003. She was All-SEC all four years; earning first-team honors three times, and was the 2000 SEC Tournament champion. She also led Auburn to SEC team championships in 2000 and 2003.
Links
Danielle Downey Classic – https://danielledowneyclassic.com/
Videos
Nancy Lopez interview – https://youtu.be/QW702JDHUTs