Can we resume the MEN's PGA tour?
By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun
So, like, are we done? Or are there a few more women or girls or infants who think their golf season will not be complete without a chance to play against the men?
Don't get me wrong. The Annika thing at Colonial was tremendous entertainment and, given her place as the very best female player in the world, absolutely legitimate. If any woman player was going to make her mark this year against the male pros, it was Sorenstam. Her opening-round 71 was an inspiration, even if she did eventually miss the cut.
Suzy Whaley was a bit of a stretch, given that she slipped into the Greater Hartford Open by playing women's tees in the qualifier. Still, she didn't embarrass herself, even though she was gone after two rounds.
And 13-year-old Michelle Wie has, on several occasions, given us a glimpse of what the future of the game might be. Her 73 last winter in trying to qualify for the Sony Open was an eye-opener. Twice this summer -- once on the Canadian Tour and this week on the Nationwide -- she has failed to make the cut by a large margin. This week, in a field of 152 players, she finished 151st.
She may very well one day play regularly on the men's tour if she develops a razor-sharp game from 100 yards in to go with those booming drives.
But, enough is enough, for now.
Sorenstam is a great female player but she's also very smart. She got her wish to challenge herself against a PGA Tour field and quickly sized up the situation.
"It has been great fun," she said, "But now I'm going back where I belong."
Her version of where she belongs is on the LPGA Tour.
The very fact that there are women in the golf world who are capable of competing against the men without embarrassing themselves or their sport is a testament to the narrowing of the talent gap between the genders.
The next step, however, won't be taken until there is a candidate who can walk on to the first tee with the men and beat them. It could be Wie or somebody else. But it can no longer be a novelty act. Whoever the next woman is to play on the PGA Tour, she should earn her way in, preferably in legitimate qualification against her male peers.
There are always going to be tournament sponsors looking for a little cheap publicity by throwing a woman into the field, but that does very little for the female players. Rather than help the women's game, it does it a disservice.
The LPGA Tour needs all the help it can get just to maintain itself as a viable professional entity. It does nothing for women's pro golf when it is constantly being pointed out that the only time people pay attention to women golfers is when there is something gimmicky involved.
And when the best women keep banging their heads against a wall in men's tournaments, it sends the wrong message about the quality of their game. Better that the focus be on events like last weekend's Solheim Cup which produced some outstanding golf and even more to the point, gritty (bitter, even?) competition.
There's little doubt that Wie has a chance to be a PGA Tour player. At 13, she has barely scratched the surface of her potential. Let's give that potential a chance to mature.
Prior to the Nationwide Tournament this past week in Boise, Idaho, where her mere presence doubled ticket sales to 60,000 from 30,000, she played a practice round with John Cook, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour.
"When she gets stronger, it'll be scary," Cook said.
"The only thing I'm worried about is that she's 13 and this is a lot for a 13-year-old to go through. I've told her to enjoy it -- being a kid -- and to go back to school and be with her buddies. She doesn't need to be out here yet. These tours aren't going anywhere. She'll be out here soon enough."
Words of wisdom. It's the kind of advice that anyone else considering to make an inter-gender challenge should consider: Take your time and, next time, make it count.
