PHOENIX - Hall of Fame member Nancy Lopez plans to stop playing tournaments full-time at the end of this season -- her 25th on the LPGA Tour. <br>
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Lopez said Wednesday, ``I am not walking away from golf. I am at the beginning of a brand-new chapter in my golf career. You will see me, because I will be participating in corporate golf events, television, golf course design and working with Women's Golf Unlimited to develop new ideas for my namesake club line.'' <br>
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Lopez spoke before playing in the pro-am of the Ping Banner Health, the LPGA's second tournament of the season. <br>
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She said she would compete in selected tour events in the future. <br>
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After Phoenix, Lopez expects to play in tournaments this month in Tucson, Arizona, and Rancho Mirage, California, before taking time off. She said her next commitment was to the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in Stockbridge, Georgia, on May 3-5. Lopez is listed as a host in the tournament's title. <br>
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The announcement came three days after a women's golf summit, which called for reliance on star power as part of a five-year plan to improve the LPGA's attractiveness in the sports-entertainment market. <br>
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Lopez, who has won 48 titles since she joined the tour in July 1977, was one of the first LPGA players to capture the attention of non-golfers. <br>
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The galleries she drew called themselves ``Nancy's Navy,'' a takeoff on the ``Arnie's Army'' following PGA star Arnold Palmer, and Lopez elevated the LPGA by smashing stereotypes about the women's game. <br>
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Lopez and her husband, former baseball player Ray Knight, have four children. They live in Albany.
