Chapter 1

Despite Tess' very late start on the Future's Tour, she ended up 14^th on the Tour's prize-money earnings list for the full season. As a result, she was permitted to skip the Sectional Qualifying Tournaments and was required to compete only in the Ladies Professional Golfing Association Final Qualifying Tournament, November 29-December 3, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

This was a big break for Tess, and an enormous relief for both of us. The earlier Sectional Qualifying Tournaments (one in California, one in Florida) during September and October had been grueling four day cut-throat competitions. Tess and I both knew she had enough game to qualify for her LPGA Tour Card by earning a place, in one of those sectional tournaments, in the final qualifying rounds.

But, obviously, getting a "bye" into the final tournament was an enormous advantage. Now, Tess could train for the pressure-packed four-round final event for much longer, and in a more organized fashion.

We were in the Daytona Beach area a full two weeks before the tournament was to begin. It was the longest period of time we'd ever spent in the RV in a single location. Tess didn't play every day, and when she did practice for the Finals, she didn't always play at the Champions and Legends Course in Daytona -- the site of the upcoming tournament. But when she wasn't at the big course, she played on nearby courses with similar conditions, conserving her physical and mental energies, but trying to assure that, when the tournament opened on November 29, she'd be in top form.

Tess' best friend on the Future's Tour, Kim Young Sun, had finished in the top five for the year on the Futures Tour, and as a result, she had earned her LPGA card outright, without being required to participate in the "Qualifying School" at all.

Nevertheless, Kim, after a three-week-long trip back home to South Korea to see her family, was back in the U.S.A, following a casual but consistent practice schedule in preparation for the first domestic LPGA Tournament event in February. Tess heard from Kim via e-mail, several days ahead of the Qualifying Tournament, and invited her -- begged her, really -- to join us in Daytona.

"I don't know," Kim wrote back. "... I'm practicing with another Korean woman who's already on the Tour. She says the courses out here are more similar to the ones we'll play in Hawaii in February."

"Here" turned out to be southern California. It was, no doubt, true that the hilly, windy Southern California courses near the Pacific would be more useful in preparing for those in Hawaii. But February was a long ways away, and Kim, having already spent time back home with her family, was now at loose ends for the next ten to twelve weeks.

"Why not come here, and give me some moral support for the Qualifying Finals?" Tess wrote back. "And then you could drive back to Chapel Hill with Will and me, stay with us over the Christmas and New Year's Holidays, and we could go out to Hawaii together!"

When Kim's return e-mail finally arrived, all it said was, "I'll phone you tonight."

Kim called at 11 p.m. sharp -- 8 p.m. in California. "I waited until now so I wouldn't interrupt any good TV shows you might be watching," she said.

"Very considerate," Tess told her. "We were watching 'Dexter.'... Do you know that show?"

"'Dexter?' No. Never heard of it."

"Pay cable," Tess explained. "Showtime. It's an acquired taste, 'Dexter, ' but it holds your attention."

"Nothing here, where we're staying, except commercial TV and maybe HBO," Kim said.

"How about the Holidays?" Tess asked Kim again. "... We're going out to Hawaii almost a full week ahead of the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. We could all go out together, and stay together."

"If I come to see you now, I'll be living off the Henderson Family for almost 90 days. I can't really afford to split expenses with you for Hawaii, either."

"Kim, cut it out! You're a friend -- my best friend on the Tour. And playing together always helps both of us. I could use your moral support -- and a little coaching -- preparing for the Qualifying Tournament. And, assuming I qualify for the LPGA, we could prepare, together, for the opening tournaments while we were back home in North Carolina."

"You know I'd love to do all of that," Kim said, "but I feel guilty. Whenever I'm with you and Will, you pick up almost all the checks and I get an extended free ride. And spending all of December and January with you in Carolina -- what are your parents going to say?"

"Please don't make me beg, Kim. I could use your expert knowledge, and your moral support, here in Daytona. And it would be a blast, having you home for Christmas! My big brother's gonna be there for two weeks. You two were making goo-goo eyes at each other when you met him earlier this year."

"Roy, Junior is a nice man."

"Nice man, my ass! He's a stud-muffin, Kimmy! You know he makes your panties go wet. Why pretend otherwise?"

"I've been in this country for most of the past two years, but I'm still not used to the direct way people talk to each other about sex."

"Sex? Sex? Who said anything about sex?... Will, you've overheard my side of this conversation. Did I so much as mention the word 'sex.'?"