If you don’t follow the sports world closely, you probably haven’t heard that Colonial tournament. This has been met with all sorts of opinions (as expected). Many of the pros on the PGA tour don’t really like the idea, though this is to hide the fact that they don’t want to be beaten by a woman. Sorenstam isn’t just any old golfer. She’s the most successful female golfer in history, and based on results alone, she is more successful than even Tiger Woods. But because she’s a woman, most people don’t know this. No “I am Annika Sorenstam” commercials for her.

The general opinion from the talking heads in the sports media is that Sorenstam will more than likely make the cut at the Colonial and will do fairly well. It’s a short course, which won’t give the men and their huge shots a big advantage, though Sorenstam will have to the hit the ball further on her approaches to the greens. And most folks in the media like the idea of Sorenstam competing with the boys, even if it’s just to see her fail miserable.

I came across this interesting article on ESPN’s site this morning. It seems Brian Kontak wants to play on the women’s tour in the interest of “parity.” You haven’t heard of Brian Kontak? Me neither. He doesn’t hold a PGA tour card (meaning he can’t play with the big boys), though he has had success in the Canadian tour and some of the minor tour events. He claims that this isn’t a publicity stunt–he just wants his chance to win on the LPGA tour. Ummm….riiiiiight. I give Bob Haring, the columnist, a lot of credit for calling Kontak out as a publicity hound. If he’s so interested in making a name for himself as a golfer, he should do it on golf’s premier stage, the PGA tour (which is what Sorenstam is trying to do herself). If Kontak plays (which isn’t a given, since LPGA rules state that competitors must be female, unlike the PGA, which has no gender rules) and fails to win, or worse yet, fails to make the cut, what does he gain? Nothing. He hasn’t done anything positive for his sport. If Sorenstam fails to make the cut, she’ll still be seen as a bit of hero for at least trying to play and win with the big dogs.

Posted on 25 February 2003