By Anthony Bosco
Annika Sorenstam changed my mind this week. It wasn’t her play at the Colonial among a field of men, but the way she handled herself and the historic opportunity afforded her to play in a PGA Tour event when she really had no business being there.
Earlier this month I was praising Vijay Singh for his stance on Sorenstam’s accepting an invitation to play with the men in the tournament this past weekend in Texas.
Singh, a two-time Master’s champion, made it abundantly clear to everyone in the world just how he felt, saying in no uncertain terms that not only did he think Sorenstam didn’t belong, but that if chance had the two paired with one another, he’d withdraw from the tournament.
I admire Singh’s complete disregard for political correctness and his courage to speak his mind, even if I find myself now disagreeing with his opinion. Singh, by the way, didn’t bother playing the Colonial after all.
Sorenstam, the best golfer on the LPGA Tour, didn’t embarrass herself, despite missing the cut by four strokes to make it past the first two days of play to compete over the weekend. Far from it. She raised not only the level of her game, but she also changed minds across the world that a woman could compete in a man’s game.
But it’s more than that. She elevated herself to icon status. What could have been a bad joke or a failed publicity stunt by those who run the tournament instead became a noble and honest experience of one woman fulfilling her lifelong dream while shutting up male chauvinists from Bayside to Bali.
One online poll seemed split as to whether Sorenstam proved she could compete with men, 48 percent saying she could, 45 percent saying she couldn’t and 8 percent remaining remarkably noncommittal.
But if you look at what she did, playing with a decided handicap and a bucket full of pressure, I don’t think anyone can say she did poorly. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
As I stated, I was against the idea of Sorenstam playing in the Colonial for all the wrong reasons. My thinking was probably like that of many others. “Why does she need to play on the men’s tour when there is a tour already there for women?
“There is no way she can score with men when playing from the back tees and with tighter, longer fairways and slicker greens than she had ever had to play on in her life.” I thought it would be a complete waste of time and a black eye not just for the Colonial, but for Sorenstam’s already remarkably successful career.
But Sorenstam’s first round in a PGA Tour event turned everything around, finishing with a 71, well in contention to make the cut, as well as embarrass a bunch of guys who did not score as well.
All of a sudden it became much more of a Cinderella story than one of an unwanted party crasher. The physical accomplishment of a woman shooting a 71 in a PGA Tour event will be weighed over time, but that she could do so well on a course that measures more than 7,000 yards is remarkable.
As hard and as long as she can hit the ball, there is just no way she can match the men, some of whom routinely hit their driver more than 330 yards. When her group mates were hitting 7-iron into the green, Sorenstam had to use a 4-wood. Still, she hung around.
Put Sorenstam against most hackers and duffers and it’s a blowout, no matter how you slice it. But these guys she played against are ridiculously good golfers, the best of the best. And for at least one round, Sorenstam was right there with them.
She shot a very respectable 74 for her second round, but it was not enough to keep her in the running to make the cut. She drained a 14-foot putt on the 18th hole Friday to close out her first PGA experience. And she got a standing ovation.
As eye-opening as her play was, however, it was her post-tournament press conference that sealed the deal for me. Her eyes welling up with tears, Sorenstam could barely keep from breaking down, not at her failure, but at her accomplishment, of attaining that childhood dream. It was beautiful to watch.
She may not be Jackie Robinson, but Sorenstam did tear down a few walls, real and imagined.
Sorenstam made it clear that this was a one-shot deal, that she would prefer to go back to the LPGA Tour, where she is the dominant force. What she did proved that she can compete with the men, but it also proved that as good as she is, she would most likely never win on the PGA Tour.
Whether you agree with what took place or not, Sorenstam made her point and lived her dream.
I just hope this is not the last time she or another woman, perhaps one still learning the game, will take a crack at the PGA Tour. I think it adds only spice to a game that can certainly be a bore.
I would also like to see some coed events with the PGA members and LPGA players battling it out, but with some amended rules. I would even like a team event, in which Sorenstam could partner with Tiger Woods and take on the rest of the top players from each tour. Such an even would breed a ton of interest and would certainly be worth watching.
Sorenstam’s achievement is just the first step. More will follow, I’m sure.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
