By:  Bill Nichols

Patty Berg is a rare breed at this week's $100,000 Babe Zaharias Invitational at Tanglewood -- she is one player who knew the Babe well.

"I played with and against Babe for years," Miss Berg said Monday as she prepared for a practice round.  "We were friendly competitors.

"Babe was a great show woman.  She had a great tempo and timing.  She brought the swing and the hit into golf."

Miss Berg, one of golf's most deserving Hall of Famers, plays few tournaments these days, but make it a point to be in the Zaharias field.

"I was a victim of cancer in 1971," she said.  "And being a great friend of Babe, there was no way I would stay away."

"I called Babe every week during those last few months of her life.  We were so very close and it was a deep loss for me," added the effervescent Patty.

Miss Berg, now 58, was standing of the first tee Monday afternoon gazing at the beauty of Tanglewood and obviously thinking about golf -- the ladies variety.

"The players today are just terrific," she said.  "They are terrific workers who are dedicated to the game.  Women athletes are stronger today and they are great strikers of the golf ball.

"Babe was colorful, but all the girls today have color.  They are good at public relations, too.  And -- they sure are playing for a lot of money.

"When I started we played three tournaments with a total prize money of $500 and I think we had about five contestants."

Does she regret being from another time?  "No, not at all," she replied.  "I've played in five decades and won in four of them."

Patty Berg began playing golf when she was 11 at her home in Minneapolis.

"Before golf I played football, but Bud Wilkinson (former Oklahoma coach), who lived in our neighborhood, told me I had no future in football.  I was too short and too slow.  And I tore up all my clothes.

"I don't regret the change one bit," she deadpanned.

Seeing Patty Berg at Tanglewood makes old-timers misty-eyed and newtimers curious.  They didn't see her in her prime.  But Babe Didrikson Zaharias did -- and those matchups were classical.