Friday, May 16, 2003

Golf: Shame on you, Vijay

It is the first time since 1945, that's 58 years, for a woman golfer to compete in the men's golf tournament.

Babe Zaharias was the last lady golfer who qualified for the 1945 Los Angeles Open.

Annika Sorenstam, considered the best lady golfer today, will be competing in men's PGA Tour, the Colonial Classic starting on May 22nd 2003 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Colonial Country Club, which had hosted the event since 1946. .

Golfers are known to let the mouth do the talking, after the clubs have done their job. But for Vijay Singh, a US Masters Champion, it is the other way round.

Vijay Singh

This was what he said about Sorenstam's entry in an interview with Associated Press after the final round of the Wachovia Championship this week:

" She is clearly the best woman golfer in the world but I emphasise the word ' woman'. They have their tour and the men have theirs. She is taking a spot from someone else in the field.

I hope she misses the cut. Why? Because she doesn't belong out here. If I'm drawn with her, which I won't be, I won't play."

Singh later said he was sorry if his comment was seen as a personal attack. "If it was an attack on Annika at all, I would like to apologize to her," Singh said after a practice round for this week's Byron Nelson Classic. "It was not put that way. It came out the wrong way." But Singh's remarks reflected a common view of men golfers but said privately.

Defending champion Nick Price was quoted as saying Sorenstam's presence 'reeks of publicity' and added 'she should qualify to prove herself'. He was quoted saying the legendary Ben Hogan, a believer in tradition, "would be rolling over in his grave."

Scott Hoch wants Sorenstam to play well so people will realize "how much separation there is between us and the ladies' tour." That is as far as Hoch would want to say.

Fred Funk, reflecting what men golfers fear most: "The most pressure ever would be if you got into a playoff against her and you lost."

Fellow Swede Jesper Parnevik said if she kicked his butt, "fine."

David Duval said he was so perplexed hearing an outcry from Vijay Singh and a few others. "I don't know what everyone is so worried about," Duval said. "If they think she can't make the cut, that's one less person to beat, isn't it?" He would like to see Sorenstam make the cut, but he isn't betting on it.

But world number one Tiger Woods said Sorenstam should play in next week's Colonial. Woods is not competing in the Colonial as he will be playing in Germany in the Deutsche Bank Open. And he believes she needs several chances on the men's tour to prove she can take on the men. "I think it will be more fair to her if she could play four or five tournaments -- then you could judge on those results. I'm sure if she did play four or five, she'd get on a roll ... In one tournament a lot could go wrong for her."

Some players admitted they do want to find out how she'll fare. " Everyone is extremely curious to see how she's going to play, and we really don't know what's going to come of it," Ben Crane said. "I'll be very interested to see how she plays."

David Toms, who won the Wachovia Championship last week, said: "I hope she plays well for ladies' golf and for her. But what is playing well? Nobody knows, nobody has anything to measure it against. I don't have any hard feeling toward her at all. She thinks she can do it, I guess we'll find out."

Annika Sorenstam is participating in the men's tour event under a sponsor's invitation. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem noted a lot of players get upset about sponsor's exemptions. "Over the years, unrestricted sponsor's exemptions have been controversial because if you give them to someone who's really not trying to play the tour, arguably, they're taking a spot from an individual," he said. "We've got a lot of good players. For a player to be frustrated is understandable. It's not anything new. Guys have complained a lot about tournaments (granting exemptions to) local pros. In this case, it's a woman. So it's a bigger deal. I think we should relax a little bit about this. Let it happen. Let her play golf. See how she plays. If you're a golfer and you love the game, it's pretty interesting stuff."

There will be plenty of sympathies for three groups of players at the Colonial:

The two guys who will pair with Sorenstam for the first two rounds, especially on the back nine on Sunday, if she makes the cut.

The three guys playing in front of her, as there will be reporters and photographers along the fairways behind them.

Anyone whose name comes after Sorenstam on the scoreboard.

Annika Sorenstam

Sorenstam, 32, has won 42 LPGA Tour titles which got her into Golf's Hall of Fame. She had won 13 times round the world last year, the most by a woman in nearly 40 years. Two years ago, she became the first woman to shoot 59.

Sorenstam has been practising from the back tees for the event. She shot a 5-over-par 75 round on her first practice round. She played with 1995 Colonial Champion David Frost, along with Sorenstam's husband, David Esch; Colonial tournament director Dee Finley; and Colonial Country Club president Jim Thigpen. They all played from the back tees, measuring 7,100 yards. "She hit the ball well," Finley said. "It was a good first time around the golf course. She was seeing some parts of the golf course that she needed to see."

She will get more TV coverage at the Colonial than Tiger Woods ever got on the PGA Tour. CBS Sports will devote an extra hour to telecast the tournament, so it can show Sorenstam playing the third round — or highlights of her missing the cut. And if she plays in the afternoon, it will on live TV, and on tape if she plays early Saturday. If she misses the cut, CBS will put in the extra hour featuring highlights of her first two rounds.

Everybody is hoping for Vijay to pair up with Sorenstam in the first two rounds and even for the weekend, if she makes the cut.

So, Vijay, its time to let the clubs do the talking, and then you can put your mouth into gear.

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