Sister Pact
May 3, 2006

Freshman, recruit, intern, newlywed, clean sleeve, Reggie Bush- it doesn't matter what term you use, we've all been rookies at some point in our lives. So all of us can reach back into the memory banks and recall what it was like to be the newbie in a world familiar to everyone else but us.

Everyone has cringe-worthy rookie memories of some form or fashion. Maybe it's your first internship, and you're trying to deliver a memo to "Pat," but you don't know who "Pat" is and you're too afraid to ask someone (because what if it's PAT who you end up asking!?!). Or as the new hire at the local supermarket, you follow your fellow employees' instructions to frequently shake the salad dressings before figuring out (three weeks later) that the joke's on you. Or how about moving to a new school in the ninth grade and realizing (quickly) that no one else here tight-rolls their jeans.

Yikes! Wouldn't it be nice if someone were assigned to help us along the way, to ensure that we don't have to learn absolutely everything the hard way?

Well, my fellow emotionally scarred friends, the professional athletes continue to get all the perks. Thanks to the sorority-esque Big Sister program on the LPGA Tour, first-year players are paired up with veterans who help navigate them safely through the Rookie Mine Field of Mistakes.

Hilary Lunke

The LPGA's Big Sister program gives rookies a go-to person of sorts who can help them learn the ropes their first year on Tour. Sure, LPGA staff members do what they can to introduce all of the various rules, regulations and procedures to these fresh-faced players-including two full days of mandatory rookie orientation immediately following Q-school in the fall. But considering most of the attendees show up to the 8 a.m. sessions still bleary-eyed after a night of celebrating their new careers, and the fact that the two-inch-thick orientation binder is no comic book, it's easy to see the need for a little one-on-one attention from a veteran player who has "been there, done that."

How and when do I commit to a tournament? What are the LPGA's practice regulations? Which hotel has better room service in Corning? Where do I find a caddie and how much should he be paid? Do I need an agent? How the heck do you get a cheap flight from Springfield, Ill., to Broken Arrow, Okla.?

It can be overwhelming for rookies, many of whom haven't traveled much outside of a "team" setting before joining the Tour. And it's often intimidating to just walk up to, say, Laura Davies, and ask her for help in deciphering a rental car contract. So by assigning rookies a Big Sister, they can feel more comfortable knowing there is a veteran willing and able to answer questions, offer advice or just listen-without passing judgment or calling them a knucklehead (to their faces).

The Big Sister program is not a new concept for the LPGA, but it's been given new life the past few seasons, thanks in no small part to five-year veteran and LPGA Tour Player Executive Committee member Hilary Lunke. Hilary devotes a lot of time and energy to recruiting veterans, matching them up with rookies and making the initial introductions-all well before the season begins, allowing the "Sisters" a jumpstart on their bonding.

She also puts her Stanford University Master's degree in sociology to good use when pairing up rookies with their mentors. She does her homework and tries to find common bonds between rookies and potential Big Sisters. Some of the pairings seem intuitive- like Swedish rookie Nina Reis with fellow countrywoman Carin Koch. But others are not as obvious. Ai Miyazato with Jean Bartholomew? It makes sense once you realize that Ai is working very hard to learn English, and Jean is actually fluent in Japanese, thanks to her years traveling and playing in Asia before finding success on the LPGA Tour. And rookie Katie Futcher is a nutritionist, so Hilary paired her with Stephanie Louden, who is very health-conscious and interested in nutrition.

Nana (Juli Inkster), Actor Terry O'Quinn, and Cash Bag (Morgan Pressel)

"I try to find a common point that they share," said Hilary. "For example, I figured Juli Inkster would be good for Morgan Pressel, because Morgan will be dealing a lot with the media and be a fairly high-profile rookie compared to many. Juli is a good contact person to help her handle all the pressures."

Or teach her how to lose money. Juli, who jokes that Morgan can call her Nana (Morgan is about two years older than Juli's eldest daughter Hayley), has given her Little Sister a few lessons on ways to keep tournament practice rounds interesting.

"I was playing by myself," said Morgan, "And she and Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon were in front of me, and they waved me up. And she wanted to take money from me because I was the youngest."

"Nana" apparently has taken to calling Morgan "Cash Bag," thanks to all of the $20 bills she's been handing over this season. But it's safe to assume she's offering advice and encouragement in exchange.

"Morgan is going to be just fine," said Juli. "She is a great kid. She's trying to finish high school and also play on the LPGA. So right now she's got a full plate.

"I have a 16-year-old daughter, I can relate."

Leta Lindley

By design, rookie Kim Hall wasn't paired with former Stanford teammates and friends Hilary or Stephanie Louden.

"She already knows us well," said Hilary. "I paired her with another one of our friends who she didn't know already-Leta Lindley. That way, a door is opened for her to meet someone new and to become more comfortable on Tour outside of her built-in friends."

Although they didn't know each other before the season started, Kim, as is the case with many rookies and their Big Sisters, knew of Leta.

"I actually remember watching Leta play on TV at the McDonald's LPGA Championship when she almost won [in 1997]," said Kim. "And I remember thinking, 'Wow that lady seems so nice.' So when I met her in Hawaii for the first time, I was kind of awe struck. Like, 'You're Leta, right?' Here was this player I had watched growing up and now she's standing right in front of me."

Kim and her Big Sister Leta (btw, I find it hysterical that at 5'4", Leta could be called "Big" anything) corresponded via e-mail prior to the season.

"She wrote these long responses, with every answer in detail," said Kim. "Like, suggestions on how to travel, how to hire a caddie, really helpful stuff like that."

The two spent time together at dinners and pro-am parties at the first few events before Leta took time off to prepare for the birth of her second child.

"Unfortunately I won't be out on a weekly basis, but I plan to keep track of my Little Sister through email and phone," said Leta. "And I have a few other surprises along the way so she knows that I am cheering for her at home."

Thanks to the Big Sister program, things are much more civilized (and less intimidating) for rookies now than they were "back in the day." Just ask Beth Daniel.

Beth Daniel

"I could have absolutely used a big sister," said Beth, who joined the Tour in 1979, prior to the birth of all but two of this year's 32 rookies (sorry, Beth). "The veterans were really hard on us! Not in a mean way or anything, but [JoAnne] Carner, [Kathy] Whitworth, [Pat] Bradley-they would tease us and tell us to shine their shoes."

Don't feel too sorry for Beth, though. As is the circle of life, the rookie eventually becomes the veteran. And payback, or paying it forward, rather, is you-know-what. (Honestly, I'm not sure I should relay this story, just in case I ever have the opportunity to play a similar joke on someone down the road.)

"One year, we told the rookies-some true rookies and some who were just in Japan for the first time-at the Nichirei Cup that they had to perform two karaoke songs for the sponsors luncheon following the event. Val Skinner was the captain that year, and she delivered the joke with a straight face.

"So every night in the karaoke lounge downstairs, the rookies [Barb Thomas (Whitehead), Jenny Lidback, Nanci Bowen, Julie (Larsen) Piers, Joan Pitcock, Alison Nicholas, Katie (Peterson) Haley and Caroline (Pierce) McMillan] spent hours rehearsing. Kris Tschetter, who was in on it, offered to help choreograph their moves. Those girls were a wreck the whole week."

But the veterans didn't actually let them go through with it, did they?

"Oh yeah," Beth remembers with a laugh a decade later.

The rookies performed Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" and "On Top of the World" by The Carpenters to an enthralled group of Japanese sponsors.

"The sponsors loved it! I think they wanted to incorporate a performance into the luncheon every year. It was a blast. And it actually worked out well because those rookies really bonded throughout the week."

Big Sis Beth Bader

Little Sis Kyeong Bae

Wow, it's a good thing the Big Sister program is now in full force, saving rookies from pranksters like Beth. But that's not to say the 2006 class won't rack up their fair share of embarrassing blunders and I-Can't-Believe-I-Did-That moments. So while Seon Hwa Lee leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings, Kyeong Bae is the frontrunner in the Rookie Oopsy-Daisy category.

For instance, after carding rounds of 73-66-71 at the Florida's Natural Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez, Kyeong and her father packed up and drove the 400-plus miles from Atlanta to home in Lakeland, Fla.

When she called the tournament office in Atlanta to find out how much money she had earned, she was told she had an 11:57 a.m. tee time-for the final round. Kyeong had mistakenly assumed the tournament was 54 holes and ended on Saturday (like the previous week's tournament in Las Vegas). Not to be deterred, Kyeong turned around and headed back to Atlanta, where she shot an impressive 68 and finished tied for 13th, her best of the season so far.

But in the future, maybe Kyeong should check in with her Big Sister, Beth Bader, before she leaves town.

"She did WHAT?" said Beth when told of Kyeong's boo-boo. "That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. I might be the worst Big Sister of all time."

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