Meg Mallon has earned almost $6 million as a professional golfer. Today she is in position to make another big chunk of money, tied for second place in the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic, four shots behind leader Se Ri Pak.
But even if Mallon takes home the winner's check of $150,000, she won't likely cherish it as much as that first dollar she made at the Farr 17 years ago. As an amateur playing in the inaugural tournament at Glengarry Country Club in 1984, Mallon got to play a practice round with LPGA Hall of Famer JoAnne Carner.
“It was my first professional event, and I won a dollar off her. I still have it, with her signature,” Mallon said.
Mallon shot a 3-under 68 at Highland Meadows yesterday, so she could be collecting a bunch more dollars when the final round is over. She has put up good numbers here in the past, including an opening round 65 in the 1996 Farr.
That gem was wiped out when a review of the television video tape revealed that she had taken longer than the 10 seconds permitted over a putt on No. 17, then signed an incorrect scorecard, unaware of the two-stroke penalty.
Mallon has finished in the money at the Farr in three of the four years since that unfortunate incident.
“I like this course and I've scored pretty well here over the years, but I still have a lot of respect for this golf course,” she said. “I don't play it with reckless abandon. I think I know it pretty well and know how to play it, and what risks to take.”
Mallon drilled a 30-footer to birdie the first hole yesterday, then birdied three straight holes early on the back nine. She made bogey on No. 14 and No. 16 before getting a stroke back with a birdie on No. 17, and hopes the blip on the back side does not end up costing her the tournament.
“I hit 15 greens today and had a lot of chances for birdies, and it was nice to see the ball go in the hole a little bit,” Mallon said. “But I'm a little disappointed about those two bogeys on the back side. When people are scoring like this, that kind of thing can cost you the tournament.”
Mallon said Pak, a two-time winner of the Farr, can be caught, but her four-shot lead will make it difficult for anyone to pull it off.
Mallon, an Ohio State graduate and former Michigan amateur champion, said the direction the field takes in today's final round will likely depend on the weather.
“A lot depends on the wind,” she said. “The wind makes this golf course very difficult. With the wind, anything can happen.”
And Mallon might be the golfer to do it. Of her 13 LPGA Tour wins, nine have been come-from-behind victories.
First Published July 8, 2001, 11:45 a.m.
