Colonial Golf Tournament

[jjwr]

I'm not a big Golf Fan, I don't even play(though I'd like to this year) but being a sports fan its hard not to have heard about this Golf Tournament and Annika Sorenstam playing in it.

After the first day she's 1 over par but with all the eays putts she missed she could have easily been 2 or 3 under. I think its great she's doing so well.

Any one else?

P.S. Without a certain guy from Seattle around we can actually talk about Women sports and the fact that they may not completley suck without getting ranted on :)

[JMK]

I'm surprised somewhat that she did so well, though I'm not sure what this is going to accomplish. More power to her though.

[Oriadin]

Who is she!?

[JMK]

The world's best female golfer playing with the best men golfers.

[Jedieb]

From what I read, she really had a GREAT round. IIRC, she hit 13 out of 14 fairways, and she was beating the two guys she was paired with for most of the day. If she'd had a better day putting she could have easily been 2 or 3 under par. I heard a quick sound bite from her press conference where she admitted to being nervous on the greens and tightening up a bit. With all the hype and the media that's understandable. She's got a real shot at making the cut, especially if she improves her putting.

If she manages to make the cut and effectively beats close to half the field of the best male golfers a the tournament there are going to be a lot of bruised egos out there. Hell, I heard she was even ahead of Sergio. There's a bruised Spanish ego right there.

[CMJ]

Very impressive run so far. She's currently on the vut "bubble" though. Interesting times ahead.

JJ, Mr. Bowen still reads these forums, so try not to make too many bad remarks about him. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL, CMJ. I have to say it is impressive though.

[Figrin D'an]

I've been firmly of the opinion that anyone who felt Sorenstam would not do well at the Colonial has never actually seen her play. She IS better than a lot of the golfers on the PGA tour, simply because she has incredible consistency with her driver, fairway woods and long irons. That bore itself out yesterday. She missed one fairway, and even in that instance, she still hit the green with her second shot. As has been said, if she didn't tense up in some of those birdie putt situations, she could have finished at 2-under. Still, she had a very impressive round, and with some of the pressure off for today's round, she could make a run and secure herself a spot for the weekend.

Despite that some of the guys on the tour are not happy with her getting the sponsors exemption to play, it was great to see the gallery get behind her and cheer her on. She won over a lot of people yesterday.

[BUFFJEDI]

First let me say ILOVE women,and use to often;) Women are very capable as men in many many way's. I have worked out with women that would give almost any man a run for there money in the gym.

Also let me ad That The PGA can do what they want,it's there business.


BUT to let ANNA play at the colonial is a Big Ole Crock of CRAP!!!!Sure she is a Great golf player , yeah she could beat me(but Of course I only play about 3 times a month. Let me play every day I would be on the PGA) But No matter how great she is she should NOT In my Opinion play with the men. That is what the LPGA is for.

We men can't play AND or GO to anything that is all FEMALE. I wanted to play Volleyball In the 8th grade NOPE only girls, I wanted to play in High school NOPE only girls. I wanted to work at a Gym in my home town, Nope only girls(even though EVERY lady that worked out there wanted me there, Honestly)

There was a College that I wanted to attend(yes because I a few of the women there) But it was a Girls only.And yes I had the sat's .

Beside's this stunt of Anna playing is all about the Money nothing else. This is one golf match I will not even THINK about watching. I know I should not BUT I hope she gets beat really, really bad BUT I know she is Very good so I be t she is in atleast the top 20 atleast. Anyway My opinion , Guess If I don't like it,don't watch it.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by BUFFJEDI
BUT to let ANNA play at the colonial is a Big Ole Crock of CRAP!!!!Sure she is a Great golf player , yeah she could beat me(but Of course I only play about 3 times a month. Let me play every day I would be on the PGA) But No matter how great she is she should NOT In my Opinion play with the men. That is what the LPGA is for.

We men can't play AND or GO to anything that is all FEMALE. I wanted to play Volleyball In the 8th grade NOPE only girls, I wanted to play in High school NOPE only girls. I wanted to work at a Gym in my home town, Nope only girls(even though EVERY lady that worked out there wanted me there, Honestly)

There was a College that I wanted to attend(yes because I a few of the women there) But it was a Girls only.And yes I had the sat's .


Men can't play on the LPGA tour because it states in the LPGA bylaws that a tour play must be female. The PGA has no such stipulation based on upon gender. Under those rules, a woman could play on a PGA tour event if she qualifies, or if the specific tournament grants her a sponsorship exemption. It's not as if this is the first time that a woman has played at the Colonial. It's just been a long time, that's all. If the PGA chooses the change it's rules, fine. But as of now, I don't see a problem with this. I think a lot of people are making a huge stink over nothing.





Beside's this stunt of Anna playing is all about the Money nothing else.

Hardly. She would only be guarenteed a decent payday if she makes the cut, and by playing the Colonial, she is missing a LPGA event that would have given her a very good payday, as she likely would have finished in the top 10.

Sorenstam is playing the Colonial because she wants to challenge herself. She is, undisputed, the best female golfer in the world right now. She won 13 tournaments last year, which is just insane... not even Tiger has ever done that. She wants to see how she matches up against some of the top male players. She has stated that she has no desire to play on the PGA tour regularly, just that if she were given a one-time shot to to compete with the men, that she would take it. The Colonial decided to give her that shot, which is their perogative for their tournament event.



FYI, as I post this, Annika just made a birdie putt to get to even-par for the tournament.

[BUFFJEDI]

Granted my post's are hard to read BUT I don't think someone got it all (looks up)

I also should have stated Money for colonial,pga,merch..etc But sponsor's are making it WELL!!!!!!!!! worth her time,I'm sure there is a nice tidey bonus in there somewhere.


Also I f Pga tried to put men only in there Bylaws they would get sued:rolleyes

[ReaperFett]

I have to agree with Buff on his last point. If the PGA did that there would be uproar. Hey, equal rights :rolleyes

[Figrin D'an]

I have no doubt that Callaway and Kraft are giving her a nice little chunk of change for her efforts. But it's no different than what any other golfer does with his/her sponsors. Most of the top golfers in the world make just as much money, if not more, than they actually get from tour earnings. Sure, the Colonial knew that it would garner a huge amount of press. Tiger wasn't going to be able to play in the event, so why not make up for that by extending an invitation to Annika Sorenstam? The PGA is supposed to be for "the best golfers in the world," of which Sorenstam certainly is one.

Sure, money is factor. It is in every sporting event. I'm mearly saying that it wasn't the primary motivation.


If the PGA did attempt to change their rules, yes, they would probably be sued. The point remains that they have not attempted to do so in the 60 years since Babe Diedrickson Zaharias teed off at the Colonial. There has simply been no need to do so, and I doubt that will change because of this event. Sorenstam is only the second woman to play a PGA tour event, and in both cases, they entered under sponsor-based invitation. It's not like anything is really going to change regarding tour participation. Exemptions are granted at the sole discretion of the host club and the tour, which I doubt that many women would seek or that many would be granted (ie. probably none). The only other way to enter is to qualify, which is a long process that would take away LPGA tour time from said female golfers. In short, the hype about this is completely blown out of proportion.

[BUFFJEDI]

I'll just say I agree to disagree with Frigin'D , hey that rymes:)

[BUFFJEDI]

well I alway's said that I was man enough to admit when I was wrong,well I was wrong.She didn't break the top 20 :) I really thought she would do better. I went agianst my better judgement and joined the masses and watched. You know what really ticked me off was all the Expert's in the booth were talking about how great of memories we would take from this golf match,how great she played she did what she set out doing by playing well ,well yesterday they said But you know what +1 is not Good it's just average,if that.why do they have to try and save face and lie like dogs:huh she was rotten.But of course better than I would have done But than agian I'm not the #1 woman in the world.


On the Plus side she is gone.Hopefully that will be that.But on the negative IMHO. She is good enough to play with the guy's. I personally think she just had a bad couple of day's,Not good enough to play with ALL the top star's. just afew like this week, but good enough to play.which leads me to think there might be another time in the future:(

[BUFFJEDI]

Oh btw: will avoid thread for couple day's. Have feeling Frigin'd is going to ream me out,but good :eek

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by BUFFJEDI
well I alway's said that I was man enough to admit when I was wrong,well I was wrong.She didn't break the top 20 :) I really thought she would do better. I went agianst my better judgement and joined the masses and watched. You know what really ticked me off was all the Expert's in the booth were talking about how great of memories we would take from this golf match,how great she played she did what she set out doing by playing well ,well yesterday they said But you know what +1 is not Good it's just average,if that.why do they have to try and save face and lie like dogs.

What are you smoking? +1 not a good score, for someone playing PGA championship length tee boxes and pin placements for the first time? She had a very solid first round, and with a couple of made putts, she could have been at -2. In her second round, she decided to be more agressive and go after the flagstick, even on the longer holes, which hurt her score. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best strategy, but again, she wanted to push herself and see if she could not only make the cut, but post a top 20 score. I will admit, I got a little tired of the announcing crew as well, because of all of the excess banter. Save a strategy change and tiring a little down the stretch of the second round, Sorenstam played very well. She still beat guys like Sergio Garcia and Tom Lehman, just to name a couple. Colonial is one of the toughest courses on the tour. The cut usually hangs around +1/+2, and winning scores are typically less than -10. With all of the the things going against her (the course, the self-induced pressure, unhappy tour members, the media frenzy), she aquitted herself quite well. She endeared herself to the fans and she will be better for the experience.





On the Plus side she is gone.Hopefully that will be that.But on the negative IMHO. She is good enough to play with the guy's. I personally think she just had a bad couple of day's,Not good enough to play with ALL the top star's. just afew like this week, but good enough to play.which leads me to think there might be another time in the future:(

The only one I could see with the desire and ability to compete on the PGA tour on a regular basis is Michelle Wie, provided her game continues to develop over the next 5 years. Whether or not this happens is another matter entirely. A lot can happen in 5 years.


I really don't understand the negative hype over this... it's not like hundreds of women are suddenly going to start looking for exemptions to play tour events. Frankly, anyone whom goes through the qualifying process successfully should be allowed to play a tour event if he/she earns the spot. If a woman, like Michelle Wie or someone else, can do that... let them play. I want to see the best golfers in the world compete week to week, and if a woman is amongst that calibur, I want to see her play.


Anyway... this is like bashing two bricks together, and is accomplishing little. So, I shall retire from this subject.