Golfer Annika Sorenstam reacts after making a birdie on the 13th hole of the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, May 22, 2003. (AP)
Robin Young on Annika Sorenstam Story aired: Friday, May 23, 2003
Annika Sorenstam, the first woman to compete on the men's pro golf tour since Babe Didrickson Zaharias walked the greens with the men in 1945.
While Sorenstam has gotten quite a lot of coverage, at Here and Now we tend to avoid the stories stuck in the media spin cycle. But I think I can make the case for mentioning this one.
First of all, know that I'm not a golfer. I'm the opposite of a golfer. When I watch the Masters, it's because the course has great azaleas. My dad and brother were both champions at Bethpage State Park, but I always thought it was a better sledding hill than a golf course, frankly.
In the days leading up to yesterday's first round when everyone was saying how Annika would have to play the long tee with the men instead of the short tee the women play on, I was thinking, "why would women need that little short stick that holds the ball up to be shorter?" Well of course, I found out they were talking about the length of the fairway, that women move up about 20 yards to tee off because they generally can't hit as far as men.
Whatever, that doesn't matter to me. But it does to golfers. So for the record, here's Phil Mickelson:
"She hit it longer and harder than I thought she would...she could easily compete on this level."
Patrick Sheehan came into the game as a late replacement for Veejay Singh, who stayed home to take a nap rather than play with a woman. Sheehan said Sorenstam's play yesterday on the longer course would be like the men playing 8,000 yards.
Aaron barber, who partnered with her said, "she's awesome...she's a machine."
A friend of mine was ecstatic: "She beat Sergio Garcia!"
And by the way, the Sorenstam story, for me anyway, is not about women's rights.
I know some people are concerned about the all-male aspect of some clubs, and I do think exclusion is something to keep an eye on, but I'm not all worked up about a sport that is all male at the highest level.
Not that I don't care about opportunities for women. I started running in boys Tigers because they didn't make girls running shoes. Now my niece has the chance to plays lacrosse, basketball and soccer. That's good. But it's not about that.
It feels more far-reaching than being a fan or a feminist.
It's about those moments when someone reaches beyond what everyone expects of them.
It's about the word that kids are so familiar with: trying. Having the world's Klieg lights swing your way and snap on, and you step into the glare and raise your game, despite the meat heads in the back of the classroom. Or on sports talk radio.
It's about there being so few mountains left to climb, so few firsts. So when anyone, man or woman, goes against the odds, shouldn't we cheer them on?
If Annika Sorenstam's stride down the fairway is ennobling for her, and it's also encouraging and uplifting for kids -- for anyone -- what's the harm?
For the record and for the record books, Annika Sorenstam hit a one over par 71. She's tied for 73rd in a field of 114. If she makes the cut today she goes on to the weekend.
I don't know a bogey from a birdie, but I'll be cheering her on.
