annika: getting her due
I'm glad to see Annika Sorenstam is finally getting her due. Yesterday, on the Best Damn Sports Show three of the four panelists agreed that she is the most dominant player in sports today, and I think all agreed she should give the men's tour another try. Today, Seth Davis of SI says that Annika should win the Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year award, already. And, yes, we here at The Golf Blog have corrected our errors of the past and are writing more about Annika. See here, here, and here.
Some staggering stats: Annika's won 6 of her last 7 starts, including a 10-stroke win last weekend. She's won 17 of her last 35 tournaments after she played the Colonial tournament with the men, and 37 times since 2001. She has 60 LPGA career victories, 8 majors (5 of the last 8, too). (If you're wondering, Tiger's got 43 PGA victories, 9 majors.)
6 Comments:
Random fact on Annika:
She has held the lead 60 times in her career going into the final round, and has won 40 of them.
Do you guys really think she can make a cut in the men's tour. There is a big problem among people out there who have NEVER played even on the nationwide tour - and think that Annika can make it on the PGA tour. I have been a club pro for the last 20 years and have seen some of the best men and women play. There is not a chance in the world that Annika can even keep her PGA card (provided she get's one in the first place). I completely agree in equal pay for working women in the corporate and government domains and in sports as well - but it is silly to even think that Annika can do well on the men's tour. These are the same silly people who said that Serena Williams should play on the men's ATP tour a couple of years ago. This is not a knock on Annika - she is the best in her sport. But to think that she can make it on the PGA tour and even come close to a top 25 in a tournament is a JOKE and anyone who echoes that opinion does not have the first clue about golf.
I don't think the guys on Best Damn Sports show were suggesting that Annika should try to play permanently on the PGA tour. I think they were suggesting that she play again another PGA event. How well would she do? Well, she did respectably at Colonial, beating some of the men (though still missed the cut). One tournament is not enough to judge her potential. And maybe she wouldn't make the top 25, but if she made the cut, that would be news. We can debate all we want on how she might do, but we'll never know until she plays.
It's up to her, though. And she says she's happy on the LPGA tour. So I respect that.
First off, I don't think anyone reasonably knowledgable about golf would suggest that a woman in the next 100 years could compete on the men's tour. I think what most golf panelists are hoping to see is a woman just make the cut on the modern men's tour (this point was made on the Grey Goose 19th Hole this week, as well). This would secure her name in the history books (not that Annika hasn't already done that), and it gives those same panelists something to yap about. To reiterate the anonymous point made, play in a ProAM once, and you will see how much better the average pro golfer is than a scratch amateur.
Annika isn't a "scratch amateur". By anon and Power Fade's logic, John Daly doesn't know anything about golf. Sometime in the next 12 months, a woman (or a girl) will make the cut in an event on the men's tour.
I think by adding 500-700 yards to the course (difference between a PGA Tour course and LPGA course), and making the greens faster (same as above), the title "scratch amateur" is a perfect way to describe Annika's chances at success on the PGA Tour schedule. As for John Daly, was he drinking at the time? If so, then perhaps his comments should be taken with a grain of salt.
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