Annika Sorenstam

[tommy]

At the colonial... she's -1 so far, through 4 holes...

You can keep up with her here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/golf/pga/holebyhole/2003/colonial/hbh6237.html?cnn=yes

[Jeff O Rocks]

I say if she can hang with em....go on with your bad self!! :D

[moonstomper]

I realize that I may have an unpopular opinion but i see it like this:

If a really good woman is allowed to play with the men, struggling men should be able to play with the ladies......seems fair to me. But they will never do that. I just think she should have stayed with the LPGA.

[nccanes]

If a really good woman is allowed to play with the men, struggling men should be able to play with the ladies......seems fair to me. But they will never do that. I just think she should have stayed with the LPGA.

Can't say I agree with that comparison or really even get the point, but whatever. There are some valid arguments about her playing/not playing, but can't say that one is one I've heard before.

She got a sponsor's exemption and there is no rule to prevent her presence (unlike in the LPGA - which does specifically prevent men). She is there w/o any rules being broken or thru any loophole.

She finished her round at +1, btw, ahead of at least 10 men (of those that have finished rounds).

[Jeff O Rocks]

If she does well, and more women want and CAN compete with the men, maybe they will create one association!! :roll: Just an idea...

[tommy]

I agree moonstomper.

And don't yell at me guys, but this really is all a publicity stunt for the LPGA.

P.S. She's +1 for round 1, tied in 68th place. The leader is 5-under.

[SouthernHockeyChick]

WARNING:
<----Raging feminist

All I can say is too bad Singh isn't playing....I'd LOVE to see her whoop his a**. What a buncha losers...scared to be beat by a girl. What is this....3rd grade? :roll:

Yeah, yeah...women shouldn't play on the PGA tour. Well you know what? A while back folks were saying Jewish people and non-whites shouldn't play. I personally don't see the difference.

[Stormbringer]

I agree moonstomper.

And don't yell at me guys, but this really is all a publicity stunt for the LPGA.

P.S. She's +1 for round 1, tied in 68th place. The leader is 5-under.

Here's a third for what Moonstomper said...I'm probably the only woman here and one of the extreme few here in America and/or the world agreeing with him. But, as someone who has done a little driving out at a driving range, done quite a bit of caddying for my dad, discussed golf a lot with my dad and others, watch golf occasionally, and hope to eventually practice and play a little when I get the time, I can safely say that Sorenstam might have a slim chance of winning the Colonial, but the odds are totally against her. My dad and I were recently discussing Sorenstam, and he said that she might have a chance if she has a good putting game. And, I've seen my share of times when someone doing very well on the putting front but not the greatest in driving and chipping has won a tournament. A classic example being when Rich "Uncle Ben's" Beem defeated Tiger Woods last year in either the Masters or US Open...the last couple of days of the tourney, he could not miss on the green. But back to Sorenstam, I honestly did not watch the tourney today, so if anyone here watched, how did her putting look? I noticed looking at her scoreboard that she parred the majority of the holes, which tells me that she may have a good putting game, but her driving and/or her chipping is what's going to kill her. Which leads me to say that a +1 for a woman playing pro men's distances is rather impressive. Pro men's distances are the farthest in golf while pro woman's distances are a tad bit short. Sorenstam is obviously used to playing woman's distances and does very well on them because they're best suited for her driving. Women in general drive shorter distances in golf than men. If there is ever a woman who can manage to drive as far as a man, I'd love to hear about and/or especially see her play a hole or two because it would be something to see. Such a woman would truly be the kind to challenge the men. As we saw today, Sorenstam may not be that kind of a woman...but, it is only one day into the tournament, and as I said, +1 is not a horrible position for her to be in. Afterall, Tiger Woods has come back from being in the plus side to win a tourney. But then again, he played on tees and a distance better suited for him.

And the factors I mentioned above are the reasons why the PGA and LPGA will never merge or at least not merge for a long time...I suppose if such a thing happened, the men and women could shoot from white tees. At a golf course, there are usually three or four types of tee off spots...there are red tees for women (And they're usually on the fringe of where the fairway begins.), white tees for amateur/intermediate men and pro women (I don't watch pro women's golf as much as men's, but I think the pro women shoot from the whites.), blue tees for intermediate/close to pro level men, and black/gold tees for pro men, usually on a PGA/specially designed course. I say white tees should be used for a mixed golf tourney/association because of the tees I mentioned, white are usually the most in the middle. But, even though women shooting from white tees won't have quite as bad a distance difference as Sorenstam in the Colonial, I still think a man would win a mixed tournament, especially if he is pro, because reaching a green from white tees shouldn't be a problem, unless he has a horrible driving game. But that would be the x-factor in such a tourney, if a woman was to have a great driving game from the white tees and/or an outstanding putting game, things would be interesting.

[nccanes]

And don't yell at me guys, but this really is all a publicity stunt for the LPGA.

P.S. She's +1 for round 1, tied in 68th place. The leader is 5-under.

And there are 3 guys at +6.

Tommy, you don't think the sponsors, tournament, networks, and PGA are gaining from this "publicity" - just the LPGA?

Yeah, it couldn't be that Annika Sorenstam, the athlete, wanted to see how she matched up against the best golfers in the game, that she's been practicing on men's tees for sometime, has increased her drives by about 30-40 yards over the last few years, increased her upper body strength, and has been basically mopping up the LPGA.

Yeah, it couldn't be any or all of that - it's just a publicity stunt by the LPGA. :roll:

I can totally understand that it a debatable issue with many sides, but to suggest that Sorenstam hasn't worked hard and wants to see how her game stacks up against the men - that's just not fair imo.

[nccanes]

I can safely say that Sorenstam might have a slim chance of winning the Colonial, but the odds are totally against her.


Perhaps I missed it, but when did Sorenstam say she wanted/expected to win the tourney? I know she said she was hoping to shoot a 70 for her first round - and she shot a 71.

I watched much of her first round. I know thru 7 holes she hit 7 fairways (better than her partners). Her putting was good, but the commentators were talking about how close she came to a several more birdies.

If anyone is interested in her shot-by-shot account, you can do it here: http://sports.yahoo.golfserv.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=13310 . There's also an interview on Yahoo. http://sports.yahoo.golfserv.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=13298

Maybe I'm way off base, but never have I read or understood this to be an attempt for her to win the tourney NOR lobby for the merging of the LPGA and PGA. She's been given a sponsor's exemption is competing against the best in the world. So far she's holding her own. Good for her.

[Tatfever]

And don't yell at me guys, but this really is all a publicity stunt for the LPGA.



If this is a publicity stunt for anyone, it is mostly for the Colonial. More people probably watched the first round of the Colonial today than any first round of golf this year.
On TV, if they show the first round, it usually comes on at 3:00 PM. Today it came on at 10:00 AM. The Colonial is getting more coverage than they could ever imagne.
On a side note - watching it today, her score is very deceiving. It could have been a lot better than +1. She was short on a lot of putts and hit the fairway on every drive except for 1(I think).
She held her own today and did quite well at it.

[tommy]

Ok, first of all... I am NOT an anti-feminist or whatever, so don't think that that's where I'm getting my opinion.

However.

Yes, there are guys at +6, but nobody expected her to be dead last. She is better than some of those guys are. Of course she is. She is the best pro female golfer in the world. Of course she's going to beat some men.

Second of all, I respect the work she has done on her game. But because of her, there will NOT be a mass exodus of ladies onto the PGA tour. They simply do not have some of the golfing capabilities of some men. Most would never compete for a win.

Thirdly, yes, all parties involved are gaining money and exposure, but you cannot honestly tell me that a large part of this is to gain awareness of the LPGA tour. There is no getting around it. It's the first time in like 58 years that a woman is playing on the men's tour. It would be insane for the LPGA NOT to take advantage of that fully.

That being said, I hope that Annika does well, I hope she makes the cut, and I really would like to see her under par, which I think that she could possibly do. But in all likelyhood, we're not going to see this become something regular.

P.S. If only she coulda sunk that putt on the 18th, she woulda been 1-under!

[nccanes]

Yes, there are guys at +6, but nobody expected her to be dead last.


Well some people did think she would be last. And sadly, some people were hoping that she would be dead last.


Second of all, I respect the work she has done on her game. But because of her, there will NOT be a mass exodus of ladies onto the PGA tour. They simply do not have some of the golfing capabilities of some men. Most would never compete for a win.


Right, most wouldn't compete - but she can. Which is why I think it's great that she has the chance to measure herself against the best. She's earned it. Isn't it the desire of every world class athlete to match up against the best in the world?


Thirdly, yes, all parties involved are gaining money and exposure, but you cannot honestly tell me that a large part of this is to gain awareness of the LPGA tour. There is no getting around it. It's the first time in like 58 years that a woman is playing on the men's tour. It would be insane for the LPGA NOT to take advantage of that fully.


If the LPGA benefits, that's fine. But they are just one in a long line. I just thought it was selling Sorenstam short to call it "all a publicity stunt". I guess it sounded to me like she was just a puppet being used by the LPGA. To me, it sounds like she's approaching it as an individual challenge.


That being said, I hope that Annika does well, I hope she makes the cut, and I really would like to see her under par, which I think that she could possibly do. But in all likelyhood, we're not going to see this become something regular.


Good to hear Tommy. I guess I couldn't tell from your first post if you were one of those "I hope she fall flat on her face" people. BTW, I've heard that there will likely be a few more sponsor's exemptions this year for women. :)

I watched some of the Golf Channel coverage last night and it seemed almost everyone in the media was giddy over how well she'd performed and the golfers were totally blown away with how well she did, understanding the immense pressure she was under. Good for her!

[Jeff O Rocks]

I say if she is good enough...let her play...or anyone other woman for that fact...the same thing as that student that wanted to play for Duke's football team...she was a good kicker, but from what I heard, Duke gave her a hard time cause she was a FEMALE....

Letting her play in this tournament is a good idea...it will show just how competitive women can be in the sport...when competing with men.. just my opinion! :roll:

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Let's liken it to this: Many people think Tiger Woods is the best player to ever live and he certainly seems to be the best player playing these days. If he's playing in a tournament he usually cleans up. Let's imagine there was another race of superior golf-playing individuals living on the moon. You don't think Tiger Woods would do everything he could to play in one of their tournaments? You don't think he'd want to see how he stood up to the best in the universe? You don't think the majority of the country would be pulling for him to go up there and play well? That is exactly Anikka's situation....except the majority of the country (or at least the loudest segment) wants to see her fall flat on her face.

[tommy]

BTW, Annika is +4 through 13 holes today... needs to improve over the last few, or she might not make the cut.

[Jeff O Rocks]

Unfortunately, I don't think she will make it from what they said on the sports...it is a shame too!!

I know pressure is part of sports, but I think with all the attention and all the negativity, it has been too much for her to play HER game.. :sad:

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Well...she didn't make the cut but she played better than a lot of folks were giving her the credit for being able to play and she represented women well. I hope she tries again soon.

[nccanes]

Well...she didn't make the cut but she played better than a lot of folks were giving her the credit for being able to play and she represented women well. I hope she tries again soon.

I just watched the post-round press conference and interviews. She said this was a one time deal. Maybe that will change in the future, but she seemed pretty certain.

She was very emotional after the round (sank a nice putt for par on the 18th after hitting her worst drive of the tourney off the tee - into the woods). She kind of chuckled to Jim Gallagher Jr. about not knowing why she was teary, saying she guessed it was because she couldn't come back tomorrow. During the press conference, she seemed to get choked up when asked or responding about the gallery or her playing partners.

She was asked if any of the PGA men that had said she couldn't compete had come up to her and say they were wrong. She said "nooo", but that several did come up and say they were proud of her. She also got a call last night from Tiger Woods congratulating her and telling her to sink some more putts and that she hit straighter than he (she said she told him she agreed with that).

Cool stuff. :)

[SouthernHockeyChick]

You know Tiger was actually one of the main folks who encouraged her to try this. I read that he was trying to talk her into it and that he had suggested the Colonial since that course is suited for her game. I guess he can understand what it's like to have been told you don't belong.