Aug. 7, 2007

By Tommy Braswell The (Charleston) Post and Courier

Beth Daniel's idea for retirement was to slip away quietly without any fanfare. And that's the way it would have gone after the 2006 season, but the thought of playing in the 2007 Women's British Open at St. Andrews, Scotland, proved to be big of a temptation for the 50-year-old Hall of Fame golfer.

Sunday, after becoming the oldest LPGA golfer to make a cut in a major championship, the Charleston native retired, finishing in a tie for 50th. In a 2005 interview with the Post and Courier, Daniel said she was already cutting down on her schedule "and eventually I'll just not play."

Had it not been for television cameras recording the moment and LPGA veterans Juli Inkster and Meg Mallon showing up to lead the applause at the 18th hole, Daniel might have gotten her wish for a silent exit after spending 29 years on the LPGA Tour.

Even her parents, Bob and Lucia Daniel of Charleston, didn't know the announcement was coming.

"We knew it was coming this year, but we didn't know it would be there. I guess that was an ideal spot to announce it," Bob Daniel said. "Twenty-nine years is a long time. She's done about everything you could do, so I guess it's time to sit back and relax."

Bob Daniel said he and his wife were watching the television coverage and looked at each other, wondering if what they had heard was true.

"This golf course beat me up pretty badly this week," Daniel told ABC Sports after rounds of 74, 75, 80 and 75 on the par-73 course.

"(Playing at St. Andrews) was an experience I wanted to have. I saw the cameras coming out and thought, 'They're making a big deal out of this and I don't want a big deal.' I didn't think I'd be emotional, but you guys have made me emotional."

Daniel, who now resides in Delray Beach, Fla., qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1999. She joined the LPGA in 1979 after winning consecutive U.S. Women's Amateur titles and helping Furman win a national championship.

Daniel played in 560 tournaments and won 33 times, including one major, the 2002 LPGA Championship. In addition to being the 1979 rookie of the year, she was player of the year three times and won three Vare Trophies (low scoring average). Daniel played on eight Solheim Cup teams.

Bob Daniel said he and his wife probably would have traveled to St. Andrews if they had know the announcement was coming, but: "We thought it was just another tournament."

"We knew (retirement) was coming; we just didn't know when and how," he said.

Daniel played in five events this year, her best finish a tie for 29th in the Sybase Classic. Her best finish in 2006 was a tie for sixth in the Women's British Open at Royal Lytham, a finish that made her exempt for this year's event at St. Andrews.

She is currently in Sweden as part of her Solheim Cup duties as assistant captain to former Furman teammate Betsy King. Daniel has worked as an analyst for The Golf Channel, and is active in working with junior golf programs in Florida.