European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday july 1985 the stars and stripes Page 19 commentary Germany Gow Queen reminisces while the accolades continue to fall on Boris Becker and Bernhard who have revitalized West Germany nationalism for sports Gerda boy Kin recalled her past that has included happiness and mostly unless you follow Golf the name Gerda Gerda Whelan or Gerda Boykin wont Regis she is West Germany first woman professional a regular for 10 years on the ladies professional golfers association tour in the United states from 1968 to when she finished third in the Lyga championship in Boris Becker want born and Langer was a kid of 11 shagging balls and cad dying at a course near his Home of Gerda Boykin never really received the credit due her from the German press while representing her country in the in those West Germany was too preoccupied with its soccer and still Becker and Langer have helped immensely in shedding some Light on Tennis and while relaxing last week during the second round of the second annual German women Golf championship in a Stop on women professional golfers association Boykin discussed the prof Itable Lyga when i played in my first Lyga tourney in there were about 35 girls now there Are 144 in practically every tournament and dozens who fail to Boykin mediocre Doest do it any said meaning that to survive on the tour you must be a very Good there is a new trend in the players Are coming out of College knowing How to play the same is happening with the these girls play in High then four years of College and come on the tour totally Boykin and the prize Money has grown to huge proper a first place in 1961 would have won to Kathy Bakers firs place finish in the open sunday netted her Judy Clark won for second place and Vicki Alvarez for you would have to go to 57th place to reach a what a contrast to the Halcyon Days Boykin Calls the tour a pretty Ordinary life and not All that you see the country from a car or hotel it is like any other Job the routine is the monday is a travelling Day tuesday you Wash clothes and maybe play a practice round wednesday is the pram meet and thursday through sunday you play in the if you make the Cut Field Cut after 36 if you dont make the you move on to the next Stop because you Haven made a Boykin figures it costs a week to play the tour what with meals and Caddy the tour has become very most of your younger players have sponsors of the better players also have Boykin pointed out that if a golfer Doest have a sponsor or is not a top then she is in big Money can be not just prize Boykin top 10 players make big Money the next 30 after those make a Good living and the rest Are just hanging on the 1984 181 players cashed in the lowest winning last 1 Patty Sheehan won in combined unofficial and official win when the tour first started in top Winner babe Zaharias pocketed for the with two and a half months of the current tour moneylender Alice Miller has won in official the tour begins in Florida in late crisscrossed the country and ends in late september in after there Are several special the Penney classic 58 in in which 50 Lyga stars Are each paired with a pea player for a team during each tour the players dont have time to see the like museums says but shopping centers Are All of the players Are Businesslike and Cour Boykin there is no funny business while on the no what about jealousy the girls dont have time to be jealous of Aneth ers Boykin said the tour can be very lonely and hard on but plenty of cliques pre vent the College kids have a group and there Are Many marriage is not out of the question on the says since 1970 she has lived with her second and current Bill an invest ment in con until when they moved to you can survive that it worked Fine with i would play three tournaments and go Home for two i had to be careful not to get worn out from playing too much husbands of Many golfers travel with their namely Joanne Garner and Judy some Caddy for their Cathy got a husband by marrying her Caddy five years while she was a regular on Verdas close friends were Marlene Sandra Judy ran Kathy Cornelius and Susie Maxwell the tour has fascinated says she remembers vividly her first tournament the 1961 open at Baltusrol country club in Spring the same site As this years she was paired with Hall of Famer Betty Jameson 1951 inductee and shot for old times i tried to qualify for the open recently and didst make i shot 7876 at Bear Creek country club in Boykin says the tour is awfully much More than in its going to take four or five years for same very talented player to make it to the sometimes you Are in Awe of whats going Boykin says there is a lesson to be you must Pace yourself at every and that includes every tournament is the practice is part of the but practice must be maintained to where you dont tire yourself photo by boo Odem Gerda Boykin Lyga tour Golf for Boykin started in her Hometown of Baden i began As a Caddy in 1948 when i was 10 years with the help of German pro Paul Gerda Schleeh her Maiden name launched into Golf with plenty of she took her pro apprenticeship Al Baden Baden and began playing with the women Golf ers were few and far in she Drew attention by finishing fourth in the German pea of 1 hit from the women she later took and passed her German pea making her a in the Gyrta had become fascinated with the country with that fascination was further realized when she met a army golfer named Dan Whelan in a 1959 tournament in he was goo looking and very who came from was stationed at he was there at the same time Elvis Presley said Gerda and Whelan fell in love and were married in Chicago in she said her parents didst object to the but her Mother said Ive got the Money for you to come the marriage produced a in now attended North Texas state on a Golf scholarship and now a business Christine didst pursue a career of Gerda was a teaching pro at North orc country club in Highland from 1961 to 1968 and played the tour off and in her life took a sorrowful turn Dan Whelan was killed in an Auto Accident in Mexico while playing in a she met her second Bill also on the Golf course this time in they were married in 1970 she moved to con Roc and became a teaching pro at River Plantation country club while competing on the As a Gerda caddies for Hershey while playing in the 1969 open in someone overheard her telling the Story about Caddy ing for americas favorite the next Day a Hershey representative showed up at the course with a 10pound bar for she later at the players used wedges to break off Gerda is still a German i carry a passport and a Green after 25 years in the United she appears to be american oriented but has not lost her love for Germany and her friends from the Way she was greeted at the German she certainly has hordes of German presently staying with her will re turn to the states july she says her Mother still has the Money if she wants to come Back to most her Days of playing in Lyga events Are she has nonexempt status and would have to qualify for each tournament or go Back to qualifying Gerda says Shell leave the latter to the younger she was allowed in the Mazda classic in Houston two weeks but failed to make the Golf has kept Gerda trim and i am still playing the same weight As i did in said who at 5foot3 and 120 pounds is still Germany Queen of the stars and stripes game from Page 17 liner into Center Henderson took two Steps then realized he make the catch and backpedal a quickly to keep the Ball from bouncing Over his head off the spongy artificial Henderson fielded the Ball cleanly with Bis momentum carrying him Murphy took Sec Ond As Garvey went to who had thrown several pitches into the dirt Well in front of Home plate to previous then walked Strawberry on a 32 pitch to Load the bringing on left handed reliever Jimmy key of key locked the door on the nationals by getting the lefthand hitting Nettles to foul to and the american league was out of a potentially disastrous when Morris came he already had thrown s3 in the fifth the nationals struck with two this time against Bert Blyleven of with the count 22 against Blyleven brushed the left handed hitter with a Tim Wallach of who had come in to play third base an in Ning hit a ground Rule double Over the Wall in left sending Strawberry to the Ball actually cleared the Fence in foul but it had bounced just inside the who had come in to catch in the then grounded a single through the left scoring both Virgil was out try ing to go to second when the throw Home squirted away from Fisk behind the Bly backing up the threw a strike to Whitaker at second to get the but the score was 41 in favor of the in the top of the Dan Petry of Detroit walked the bases loaded with one was relieved by Tiger bullpen Ace Willie Hernandez promptly gave up a two run double to the nit scored Chicago Ryne Sandberg and Montreal Tim Hernandez then struck out Cincinnatus Dave after intentionally walking Wallach to Load the Hernandez struck out Philadelphia Glenn Wilson to end the san Diego Rich Gossage struck out Rice and Bostons Rich gedman to end the game and record his sixth Allstar game a
