View Full Version : Go Annika!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Golfers making the cuts stuck in a bunker of conservatism
May 21 2003
I don't know Annika Sorenstam, but I do know she is one gutsy woman. I know this because one of Australia's greatest sporting exports, golfer Greg Norman, has made loutish and disparaging remarks about her simply because she is having a go.
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So much for solidarity within a sport.
Norman has found it threatening that Sorenstam, the world's No.1 female golfer, has hidden her skirt, whipped out her trousers and dared to compete against the men in the $SU5 million ($7.6 million) PGA tour at the Colonial tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, which starts tomorrow.
This will be the first time in 53 years a woman has played on the tour, a long time behind the truly inspiring and multi-talented American Babe Zaharias, who qualified in her own right.
It is possible that Sorenstam won't make the cut, but that hasn't stopped her being the target of (male) ridicule.
Norman started off being patronising, then he got wound up and started being an idiot.
This is what he said: "For Annika's sake I hope she doesn't get hurt. I don't see any win-win out of it for her. Even if she does well, what does it mean? For her it is probably winning, I don't think she will make the cut. She had better take her 'A' short game there. I think that will be the only thing that will help her play on the weekend. It is not a slight on the female gender; it is just a fact that our courses are almost 900 metres longer than theirs and that is a lot over 18 holes.
"This is the men's tour. Our bylaws don't have restrictions, but nobody probably thought about that 30 years ago."
In other words, pack your clubs, Annika, you aren't wanted. Nor did he believe the Queensland Open should invite Australian professional Rachel Teske. He didn't say it, but women around the world were waiting for him to add "and she should be back in the kitchen".
Perhaps we could excuse Norman for being a dinosaur - he has been living in the conservative enclave of the US for decades. But another Australian golfer of a more recent vintage, Robert Allenby, had the same views. Vijay Singh, who was the first to claim Sorenstam had no business on the men's tour, has actually pulled out of the tournament, insisting it was not to avoid the Swede but to relax after a victory last weekend.
Which highlights just how brave and pioneering Sorenstam's simple desire - to play a game and see how she matches it with the blokes - really is.
And golf is such a segregated sport. Men are "members", women are "associates". Men get the privileged Saturday play, women are relegated to Wednesday. The culture of the sport is that women are from another planet and the men don't want anything to do with them.
Just look at the recent controversy about the Augusta National, which stages the Masters, and its refusal to admit female members. But why is it that men are so fearful and jealous when a woman "intrudes" on their turf? Are they worried that - heaven forbid - Sorenstam might beat a few of them? That her shorter game, which requires far more strategy than simple power hitting, might expose a few male flaws? That she might earn a few dollars?
Norman reckons Sorenstam can't "win", but she already has. She picked an American course that is short and tight to suit her straight driving and accurate putting game.
She has attracted triple the number of journalists to the tournament than usual and US television is now going to show the event live, starting from when Sorenstam picks up her clubs.
She has stirred the comfy male enclave. And she has held her head high under a torrent of abuse. Now that is a winner.
By Clifton Brown in Fort Worth, Texas
May 21 2003
About 5.50pm on Monday, Annika Sorenstam stepped out of a van, walked to the driving range and began an experience that will be memorable and chaotic.
When Sorenstam arrived at Colonial Country Club, about 400 photographers and reporters had been waiting most of the day. When her arrival seemed imminent, about 75 of them gathered at the front of the clubhouse, waiting for her entrance as if she were a head of state.
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Welcome to the Colonial, where attention will be focused on Sorenstam every day, all the time. And that may be her biggest challenge as she becomes the first woman in 58 years to play in a US PGA Tour event.
Though Sorenstam eluded the media massed at the front gate by being dropped off at the driving range 800 metres away, a group of photographers and reporters caught up with her as she spent about 25 minutes hitting balls. Surrounded by security, Sorenstam then got in a golf cart to be driven to the putting green.
But before she pulled away reporters began shouting questions, as if she were George W Bush trying to duck out of a news conference.
When someone asked Sorenstam if she was ready for all this attention, she smiled and said, "We'll see".
Surely the spotlight will only get hotter. Sorenstam did not play the course on Monday, but she will on the two days before Thursday's opening round. Her every move will be watched by huge galleries.
All tickets have been sold and tournament officials expect a record crowd of more than 180,000 for the week. Many of those people will come to see Sorenstam, who was to meet PGA Tour security officials on Monday night to go over strategy.
Monday was Sorenstam's most peaceful day. Only one other tour player, Cliff Kresge, was on the driving range with her. Only a few fans were watching and only four other players were at the putting green, Marco Dawson, Fred Funk, Tim Herron and Chris Smith.
While Sorenstam was putting, Funk went over to shake hands and wish her good luck, and she smiled broadly. Sorenstam spent about an hour on the putting green as her coach, Henri Reis, watched. She signed a few autographs as she left, and she was again asked about all the attention from the media.
"I'm amazed," she said.
Earlier, when Funk arrived at the clubhouse and saw all the people waiting for Sorenstam, he said, "I thought I told these guys I was coming later". Most players who walked out of the clubhouse and saw the number of reporters waiting seemed surprised, but they also seemed to understand.
"I think everyone's interested to see how she's going to do," said Jim Furyk, a seven-time PGA Tour winner, who met Sorenstam when they were in college at the University of Arizona. "The average LPGA player would struggle a lot playing our conditions, with the length, the green speed and the pin placements. But there's no question she's the best LPGA player. So I don't know how she'll do. I wish her well."
Most players did not envy her position. "It's going to be a zoo," Duffy Waldorf, a veteran tour player, said. "Just the fact that she's doing it is really neat. I have to commend her for having the courage to do it."
Where will she finish?
SportsTAB dividends for $1
Miss cut: $1.25
Make cut: $3.60
21st or worse (must make cut): $3.75
11th-20th place: $15.00
5th-10th place: $51.00
Withdrawn/disqualified: $51.00
2nd-4th Place: $101.00
Winner: $301.00
New York Times News Service
Handy Harry
23-05-2003, 13:56
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Onya Annika!
May 23 2003
For Worth, Texas: Annika Sorenstam had everyone fooled. Watching her split fairways and putt for birdie on every hole, no one could have guessed what was going on inside - the pounding heart, queasy stomach, jangled nerves.
"It never went away," she said.
Looking at her score, no one could have guessed it belonged to a woman.
In an atmosphere that matched the historic occasion, Sorenstam held her own at the Colonial golf tournament with a 1-over 71 that left her in the middle of the pack.
The first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour played like one of the boys.
"It was more than I could have ever expected," Sorenstam said.
"It's just a thrill to be here and I'm very, very pleased with the way I played."
Sorenstam was seven strokes behind Rory Sabbatini, who took advantage of a soft course to shoot 64. He led by one over Mark Calcavecchia and Patrick Sheehan.
Sorenstam's 71 gave her a decent chance to make the cut.
Sorenstam was tied for 73rd - the top 70 and ties get to play on the weekend - but will play in the afternoon tomorrow when the conditions will likely be tougher.
Even if she doesn't make the cut, it might not matter.
For one round, under the kind of scrutiny only Tiger Woods can appreciate, Sorenstam showed why she was worth a sponsor's exemption and why she has become the most dominant woman golfer in 40 years.
With a gallery that stood a dozen deep and strained to see every shot, Sorenstam missed only one fairway, making her the most accurate driver in the field.
The only time she stood in a bunker was to read a putt.
"She's a machine. She's awesome," said Aaron Barber, who played with Sorenstam and had a 72.
"I've never played with someone over 18 holes who didn't miss a shot."
Also at 71 was Nick Price, the defending champion who was among those protesting her sponsor's exemption.
Price has said it "reeks of publicity". Sorenstam finished ahead of 26 players, including Stuart Appleby (72), Sergio Garcia (72) and Tom Lehman (73).
But this wasn't an experiment to see if the LPGA's top player was better than the men.
She only wanted to see how her game stacked up on a longer course (7,080 yards - 6,442 metres), with tucked pins, against the best competition golf has to offer.
Several of those who played in the afternoon watched hole-by-hole coverage of Sorenstam's round on television.
"She hit it a lot farther than I thought she would," Phil Mickelson said after his 67.
"It looked like the way she's playing, she could easily compete on this level."
The last woman to play on the PGA Tour was Babe Zaharias in 1945. The last time there was this much interest in one round was when Woods made his professional debut in the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open.
Fans began gathering around the 10th tee nearly an hour before Sorenstam started her round.
They crammed into a clubhouse balcony, on a grassy hill to the right of the tee and covered every inch of rope from tee to green.
Sorenstam was so nervous she stopped practicing on the putting green 20 minutes before her tee time.
After catching a glimpse of Sorenstam from an adjoining fairway, Australia Steve Elkington said to his playing partner Dan Forsman: "You know, Dan, this gal's got a lot of class.
"I don't know if I could have handled it as well as she's handled it."
On the first tee Wilson and Barber each hit irons safely to the fairway.
Sorenstam hit 4-wood and as the ball descended from the smoke-gray clouds and landed beyond the other two, the crowd cheered as if it had been a tournament-winning shot.
There were more women present than typically attend a PGA Tour event, but the support was universal.
Hundreds of fans wore "Go Annika" buttons and held up signs urging her on.
There was even the odd cry of "You Da Woman!"
The loudest cheer of the day came at the par-3 13th, where Sorenstam made her only birdie with a 15-foot putt from just off the fringe. She pumped her first, kicked her leg and pointed to her caddie.
Sorenstam thought a birdie would calm her nerves.
No such luck.
"I talked to Aaron and Dean a little bit and we were laughing, but once I was over the ball, once I was looking at the flag, I was nervous again," Sorenstam said.
She missed her goal - even par - by one stroke, but was still five better than the odds-makers in Las Vegas thought she'd do.
Despite missing four birdies inside 15 feet, Sorenstam was satisfied.
She eased into a chair before 300 reporters, looking both worn out and pumped up.
"Oh, I'm so relieved," she said.
"I feel like I played 36 holes in one day. I'm sure tomorrow I'm going to be nervous as well.
"But I want to do better."
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She should be at home cooking some blokes dinner . She wont make the cut , and should snap out of it .
Handy Harry
24-05-2003, 12:06
May 24 2003
Fort Worth, Texas: Annika Sorenstam, the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event, saw her historic week come to a close after two rounds on Friday when she shot a second-round 74 for a five-over over total of 145 and missed the halfway cut.
Sorenstam, who stood up to the glare of publicity with a solid one-over par 71 in the first round, couldn't pull off a repeat today.
"I had a wonderful week," Sorenstam said, saying she would particularly remember the support of the crowds.
But she ruled out a repeat of the experience, saying she felt she was "in over my head".
In the first round, the 32-year-old Swede certainly looked as if she belonged, missing only one fairway and was never further from the green than the fringe.
In the second round she found her first bunker of the week with her third shot at the par-five first. Sorenstam blasted out to four feet and made the putt for par.
Sorenstam, the first woman to play a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945, sighed and smiled with relief after the save.
She then picked up a stroke with a birdie at the 400-yard, par-four second and made par from another greenside bunker at the par-four third to stand even for the tournament.
But at the fifth she was in the right rough off the tee, and her third shot went through the green. Her first chip of the tournament left her 14 feet from the cup, and she made that for bogey.
She was off the green again at the sixth and dropped another shot, and three-putt bogeys at the eighth, 10th and 12th moved her to five-over.
She parred her way in, while the cut, which brings the top 70 players and ties back to play tomorrow and Sunday, was established at one-over.
By the time Sorenstam's round started, Kenny Perry had the second-round lead with a six-under 64 for an eight-under total. He was joined atop the leader board by Dan Forsman, who carded his second straight 66 for 132.
Perry said he was impressed by how Sorenstam handled herself in the first round.
He recalled playing with Tiger Woods when Woods was pursuing a Grand Slam.
"It was just really intense out there," Perry said of those rounds. "And I performed very poorly. And she shoots 71. My hat's off to her."
Once again today the Sorenstampede was on at Colonial Country Club, where even fans in the back rows of the grandstands at the ninth green stood and turned around to try to see Sorenstam tee off.
Perry, who teed off hours before Sorenstam, said that as he moved up the leader board his galleries grew, but not by much.
"I think they're all waiting for Annika," he said.
Jesper Parnevik said he didn't grudge his compatriot the attention.
"This whole week is about Annika," Parnevik said after he shot a 68 for 134 and a share of fourth place. "It's a very historic week. I guess we have the Shark, the Tiger and now we have the Superwoman."
Interest in how Sorenstam would fare here, along with debate over whether she should even play, had been brewing in the golf world since she accepted the invitation from Colonial in February.
The portrayal of what Sorenstam herself called a purely personal challenge as a skirmish in the battle of the sexes captured the imagination of the general public, and Sorenstam's performance yesterday was front-page news across the United States.
Even President George W Bush weighed in this morning, saying he was rooting for Sorenstam to make the cut.
It wasn't to be.
But Sorenstam received an ovation as she walked up the 18th fairway, where she had to hit her second shot out of the trees.
She acknowledged the crowd before knocking her third shot onto the green and making a 14-footer for par.
"It's kind of a sad ending," Forsman said. "I'd like to hear the rest of the story."
Sorenstam, however, said there wouldn't be another chapter.
"This has been a great week," she said. "But I've got to go back to my tour where I belong."
AFP
Why is everybody so excited ? I told you all she wouldnt make the cut , shes bombed out accordingly and should get back to the kitchen and cook a feed up for someone . Cheap , ridiculous publicity stunt . Nothing more .
cheesebeast
16-01-2004, 12:50
Here's another one for ya Mr Nice!!!
Wie wows at Sony Open
by DOUG FERGUSON, Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) -- Michelle Wie hardly looked out of place Thursday at the Sony Open. Give her time, and the 14-year-old might prove she belongs on the PGA Tour.
Wie, believed to be the youngest player ever on the PGA Tour, made three birdies in a respectable round of 2-over 72 that left her nine strokes behind Carlos Franco.
Still, the ninth-grader from Punahou made quite an impression.
``She hits it long enough to play any golf course,'' said Craig Bowden, her playing partner who posted a 70. ``I looked at her today as another player.''
Only when they chatted did Bowden realize this was no ordinary sponsor's exemption.
``We don't have a lot in common,'' Bowden said. ``I asked her when she was going to get her driver's license.''
Wie is the third female to play on the PGA Tour in the last eight months, following Annika Sorenstam at the Colonial and Connecticut club pro Suzy Whaley at the Greater Hartford Open.
She was in a tie for 105th among 144 players; the top 70 and ties qualify for the weekend.
``If I play the way I did today, with a couple of putts falling in, I think I could make the cut,'' she said. ``I think I can shoot under par tomorrow.''
Jesper Parnevik had a 65, and when told what Wie shot, his expression went from amazement to relief.
``That was my first goal today, to beat her,'' Parnevik said. ``That's something you would hear about forever. Annika is one thing. But if you have a 14-year-old girl ...''
Wie finished with the same score as three former major champions (Shaun Micheel, Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman), and ahead of players such as Scott Hoch and Adam Scott (73).
Parnevik considered her youth and inexperience when he said, ``I think it's 100 times more impressive than Annika playing Colonial.''
When Sorenstam missed the cut, she said didn't belong on the PGA Tour.
Wie doesn't feel the same way.
``I think I learned that I can play here, but I have to work harder on my game to be in the winner's circle,'' Wie said. ``I never felt out of place.''
Franco, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, made an eagle on No. 9 and was flawless on the back to shoot 63.
Aaron Baddeley, who lost in a playoff last year at Waialae, was among those at 66. Paul Azinger got his year off to a good start with a 67.
All of them played in virtual anonymity.
Craig Barlow noticed the gallery swarming around Wie on the fifth tee, turned to his playing partners and said, ``I didn't know Tiger was here.''
``There wasn't a ton of people,'' he said. ``But she gobbled them up.''
Wie could not have asked for better conditions.
One day after 35 mph gusts knocked out electricity to Wie's home in Honolulu, Waialae was graced with sunny skies and a breeze so slight that the palm fronds barely moved.
Plus, she started her round on the 10th hole, the easiest par 4 on the course.
Wie slightly popped up her 3-wood, although it landed in the middle of the fairway. She pulled her wedge and clipped a palm frond, leaving her 70 feet from the hole, then made a nice lag to escape with par.
Wie's first birdie came on No. 12, when she ripped a drive some 25 yards beyond Bowden, and hit a 9-iron into about 10 feet. The putt curled into the cup, putting Wie's name in lights -- the electronic scoreboard just down the fairway.
It didn't last long.
From the middle of the fairway on No. 13, she hit into a bunker and took two shots to get on the green, chipping to 2 feet to limit the damage to a bogey. She bogeyed the next hole, too, hitting into the another bunker.
Close to 3,000 fans -- a Sunday crowd for the Sony Open -- followed along. That included her father, B.J. Wie, who wore a ``Wie-Go'' shirt and a button on his visor that said, ``Michelle, No Ka Oi.''
That's Hawaiian for ``Michelle is the best.''
That wasn't the case Thursday, but it wasn't bad.
Sorenstam faced far greater scrutiny at the Colonial, in part because she was a proven player with more than 40 LPGA victories at the time, including four majors.
Wie made the cut in six out of the seven LPGA Tour events she played last year -- two of them majors -- but she badly missed the cut in her two men's tournaments on the Nationwide and Canadian tours. Her best score was a 74.
Wie looked like she was headed for a high score, but she holed a 20-foot par putt on No. 4, and followed a three-putt bogey with a 3-iron out of the rough to 25 feet for birdie on No. 6.
She finished her round in style, blasting out of the greenside bunker on the par-5 ninth to 10 feet and holing it for birdie and a 72 -- one stroke worse than Sorenstam's opening round at Colonial.
She was three shots better than Kevin Hayashi, whom she calls ``Uncle Kevin.'' He qualified as the top club pro from the Aloha Section, and when the round was over, Hayashi presented Wie with a purple lei.
``I'm not the only guy she's going to beat,'' Hayashi said after his 75. ``The only thing we have in common is our age. I'm 41, she's 14. At least we've got the same numbers.''
Wie is unlike any other kid her age -- on the golf course, any way.
cheesebeast
16-01-2004, 13:03
Wie, a Ninth Grader, Takes Her Playing Partners to School
HONOLULU, Jan. 15 — Making her PGA Tour debut Thursday at age 14, Michelle Wie played more like a nine-year Tour veteran than a ninth grader.
Seemingly unfazed by the hoopla, the pressure and the attention, Wie shot a two-over-par 72 in the opening round of the Sony Open, finishing ahead of past Tour event winners like Scott Hoch (73), Matt Kuchar (73), Steve Flesch (74), J. P. Hayes (74) and Rory Sabbatini (78).
Although it would probably take a round in the 60's on Friday for Wie to make the 36-hole cut, which was at even par last year, nothing that happened on Thursday at Waialae Country Club convinced her that the cut was out of reach.
Why shouldn't Wie dream big? She stands six feet tall and has a silky and powerful swing that is the envy of many Tour pros. At least two of her first-round drives measured more than 300 yards, and her touch around the greens looked much improved since last year.
After a round that included three birdies, five bogeys, several splendid shots and many smiles, Wie said at a news conference that she was grateful to display her skills in front of a huge gallery. Her playing partners may have been more impressed than she was.
"I think I learned that I can play here," said Wie, who has talked of one day playing the PGA and the L.P.G.A. Tours. "I think I could play here, but I have to work harder on my game to be in the winner's circle. I never felt like I was out of place."
Wie had several factors in her favor. The weather was almost perfect, with hardly a breath of wind and midday temperatures around 80 degrees. And Wie, a Honolulu native, was helped by her familiarity with the 7,060-yard Waialae course, which she has played at least 50 times since the beginning of November.
Yet Wie had never played Waialae under Tour conditions, with fast greens, tucked pin positions and challenging rough. Wie was hardly overmatched, however, and just missed several short putts.
"She hits it long enough to play any golf course," said Craig Bowden, one of Wie's playing partners, who shot a 70. "If she plays the way she did today and she makes a few more putts, she could make the cut."
Wie outdrove Bowden on several holes, including the par-4, 446-yard No. 12. Asked about being outdriven by a 14-year-old girl, Bowden said half-jokingly, "It was demeaning."
Then Bowden added: "She's got a long swing and a huge arch. She's going to create a lot of power. I had never seen her play. It was impressive, very impressive."
While Carlos Franco was the leader by two strokes over Jesper Parnevik with a 63, Wie, who was tied for 105th place in the field of 143 after Sabbatini withdrew, finished ahead of her other playing partner, Kevin Hayashi, who shot a 75.
"I'm not the only one she's going to beat," Hayashi said.
Wie followed in the footsteps of two women who played in PGA Tour events last year: Annika Sorenstam, the top female player in the world, and Suzy Whaley, a club professional from Connecticut. When Sorenstam became the first woman to play a PGA event in 58 years last May, the atmosphere was frenzied. Sorenstam, who shot 71-74 and missed the cut, played in front of a huge gallery that approached 10,000 people on each hole, with many fans screaming encouragement between shots.
Thursday's scene was far different. Wie's gallery probably exceeded 4,000 at his highest, but the atmosphere was almost subdued at times. Spectators seldom said anything to Wie between shots but cheered strongly whenever she did something positive.
"It was wonderful," Wie said of her fan support. "There were so many people out there. They were really good, supporting me, and whenever I made a putt they were just awesome."
She started play on the 10th hole, and her first birdie came at No. 12, where she made a 10-foot putt. She bogeyed the par-4, 478-yard 13th hole, hitting a 4-iron approach shot into the right bunker and then failing to get up and down. Then came another bogey at the par-4, 433-yard No. 14, where she hit a tee shot into the right rough, missed the green and failed to get up and down again.
Wie righted herself with three consecutive pars but missed a birdie putt at the par-5, 551-yard No. 18. Her 12-footer grazed the right lip of the cup and stayed out as Wie slumped to her knees in disappointment. "I think I was putting very well today, but they just wouldn't go in," Wie said.
Wie missed the green with her approach shot at No. 1, leading to another bogey that dropped her to two-over par. But after making a nice 22-footer to save par at No. 4, Wie three-putted for a bogey at No. 5.
She bounced back with a 20-foot putt for a birdie at No. 6 after hitting a superb 4-iron shot from the rough to the green. Wie missed the green and bogeyed the par-3 No. 7 but ended the day with a birdie at the par-5, 510-yard No. 9, chipping her third shot to 9 feet and sinking the putt.
With the afternoon players still on the course, Wie did not know exactly where she stood in the 144-player field when her round ended. But her goal of making the cut remained a possibility, and she hoped to play Friday even more fearlessly.
"I think I was playing more safe today," Wie said. "To make it to Saturday, I'm going to go at every flag."
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Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cheesebeast
17-01-2004, 11:05
Missed the cut by 1 shot, home in 33, not bad for a 14 year old girl.
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