Associated Press
Wednesday, June 21

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- Karrie Webb has a chance to do something not even Tiger Woods can accomplish this year -- win the Grand Slam.

No one has ever won all four major championships in the same season, and Webb is the only player on any tour who can still even dream about it. Three months ago, she turned in the first overpowering performance in golf this year with a record 10-stroke victory in the Nabisco Championship.

She goes after the second leg Thursday when the LPGA Championship gets under way at DuPont Country Club.

"It would be great, and very important to me if I won this week," Webb said. "But it's only Wednesday, and I've got a long road ahead of me before I even have a chance to hold that trophy on Sunday."

Webb also won the du Maurier Classic in August, so a victory this week would make the Australian the first player since Pat Bradley in 1985-86 to win three straight majors. Ben Hogan in 1953 was the last male to win three straight.

These days, however, the most natural comparisons are to Woods.

Webb has won five tournaments worldwide and finished out of the top 10 just once this year, same as Woods. And while her 10-stroke victory at the Nabisco wasn't quite the same as Woods' 15-stroke victory in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on Sunday, it spoke volumes about her dominance.

"Some have accepted that she's going to win a lot," Nancy Lopez said. "I don't think they sit back and say, 'Well, Karrie is going to win this week.' But they know who they are going to have to beat if they're going to win."

Webb is the favorite this week because, like Woods, she is the favorite every week. And just like on the PGA Tour, some of her peers aren't ashamed to admit it.

"If I was a betting person, I would put my money on Karrie every week. I'd be very rich right now," said Juli Inkster, whose victory last year in the LPGA Championship made her only the second woman to complete the modern career Grand Slam.

Speaking of money, there's more at stake for Webb than the $210,000 to the winner. Thanks to a bonus pool established by Nabisco, she can earn an additional $250,000 by winning her second major.

That goes up to $1 million if she wins the U.S. Open next month, and $2.5 million -- more than Webb won all of last year -- if she wins all four.

But that's getting a little far ahead. What helps keep Webb's mind off her pursuit of history is the fact she has never played DuPont Country Club particularly well. In fact, she missed the cut last year.

"I don't have high expectations that I do going into the Nabisco Championship," she said. "I'm just trying to get myself into contention come Friday night, and hopefully have a good weekend and then see what happens from there."

Unlike the Woods, at least Webb figures to have some competition at this event.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Annika Sorenstam, who lost to Webb in a playoff in Hawaii earlier this year, repaid the favor by beating Webb with an eagle on the first playoff in the Evian Masters last week in France.

It was the Swede's third victory this year, a sign that she may be ready to try to reclaim her No. 1 ranking.

"Karrie, right now, is the No. 1 player, and when you beat somebody like that, it gives you more confidence," Sorenstam said. "But also, it helps knowing your game is good enough to know that you can beat her. That means a lot."

Sorenstam took over women's golf a year after she graduated from Arizona, winning the U.S. Open in '95 and '96 and taking six tour victories a year later. Winning became so natural that she eased off her practice routines, and has fallen off the pace.

Now, she is working harder than ever.

"The motivation is there," Sorenstam said. "Now I'm chasing somebody and know what I want, and I think that's what drives me now."

And that might be the ultimate comparison between Webb and Woods. Both are at the top of their game and, not surprisingly, both are among the hardest workers on their tours.

"What are you going to do, tell her to back off a little bit?" Inkster said. "She's going out there and trying her hardest and practices hard. It doesn't come easy for her. She works hard at her game. She's reaping rewards right now."