Annika Shoots 71 in 1st Round at Colonial

Originally posted by pritchke: She has to be using the same tees as everyone else. They only have one set in a pro tourney.

As Malth. said above, there was another lady golfer who was to have played in a "mens" tourny but would be using a "forward" Tee position...so it is not like "only one Tee position" is some kind of universal constant in this arena.

Personally if a woman can compete with the men without special rules or allowences Im all for it....but if you need special treatment due to your sex, then I am sorry but you should not be competeing in that particular arena...In my opinion.

Edit: ya know...female Sumo wrastlers...now that would be fun to watch

[ 05-23-2003, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[Mouse]

There is a nice article about her first round on the ESPN site here. Atm, it does not look like she'll make the cut (+4 after 10 holes of her second round), but good on her for trying [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Aelia Jusa]

Originally posted by MagiK: quote: Originally posted by pritchke: She has to be using the same tees as everyone else. They only have one set in a pro tourney.

As Malth. said above, there was another lady golfer who was to have played in a "mens" tourny but would be using a "forward" Tee position...so it is not like "only one Tee position" is some kind of universal constant in this arena.

[/QUOTE]Actually AFAIK while the other woman qualified for the mens event by using closer tees (I believe she won or top ten or something in another event which was either a women's or mixed tournament), in the actual men's tournament she will be playing she will be teeing off from the men's tees.

I think golf is one of the few sports that women can compete on an even playing field with men, which is great! While it is advantageous to be able to hit long off the tee if you don't have a short game then if you need a 6 iron or a 3 iron for your second shot it really doesn't matter. And it isn't always the longest hitters that are the best players.

I hope she does make the cut. I think if she doesn't though not very much could really be made of her performance. Yesterday teeing off in front of over 600 journalists was probably the most nerve-wracking experience of her life. She said herself she never really felt relaxed like she does normally yesterday - and to shoot a +1 even so was a great achievement.

[Davros]

Originally posted by Donut: "Annika Shoots 71 in 1st Round at Colonial" And people still say there should be no gun control. *sigh*

Mwahahahahha - that's the second time one of you pair have cracked me up totally this week [img]smile.gif[/img] I can't believe no one else laughed enough to comment [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 05-23-2003, 08:16 PM: Message edited by: Davros ]

[Davros]

Originally posted by MagiK: Ok lets go over my post carefully here...I said I wasn't impressed because she wasn't playing by the same rules...so far I have one guy saying she is, and ABC news saying she isn't...... Now...who threw which airball? Now riddle me this...why are men not allowed to play on the LPGA?

LOL - trust me Ray - I wouldn't be talking of airballs and pushing myself this far out on a limb if you weren't "ABSOLUTELY CATEGORICALLY TOTALLY FLAMIN WRONG AND IN FACT NOWHERE EVEN IN THE RIGHT BALLPARK TO BE EXACT" . Atually MagiK - I have never been surer in my facts when I have crossed swords with you in debate. This topic is one that I have been following fairly closely for months.

Davros hands ball back - I believe this is yours [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Riddle me this huh - why are men never allowed to play in the LPGA - cos they are clearly physically dominant in this sport. How would that be a measure of equality of the sexes? Should we "men" feel threatened becuase the best woman in the world wants to test herself againt us on our rules and our terms - HALE NO (as my good mate JD would put it) 0 let hed find out for herslef what it's like and how she rates. Should the women feel threatened if physically advantaged people (I don't know - say us men) were allowed to compete in their events - HALE YES - that is hardly a move that produces equality - it produces inequality.

Your question answers itself really.

[Davros]

Originally posted by Aelia Jusa: Actually AFAIK while the other woman qualified for the mens event by using closer tees (I believe she won or top ten or something in another event which was either a women's or mixed tournament), in the actual men's tournament she will be playing she will be teeing off from the men's tees. I think golf is one of the few sports that women can compete on an even playing field with men, which is great! While it is advantageous to be able to hit long off the tee if you don't have a short game then if you need a 6 iron or a 3 iron for your second shot it really doesn't matter. And it isn't always the longest hitters that are the best players. I hope she does make the cut. I think if she doesn't though not very much could really be made of her performance. Yesterday teeing off in front of over 600 journalists was probably the most nerve-wracking experience of her life. She said herself she never really felt relaxed like she does normally yesterday - and to shoot a +1 even so was a great achievement.

Quite corect on the first point Aelia about the other woman that is going to play in the coming months - she qualified on shorter tees, which I don't think was fair by the way, be she will be playing off the back blocks with the big boys when her moment comes.

Your second part I don't agree with all that much (Davros ducks and looks for the sky to fall on his head), because I don't think it is a sport that can be competed on on an even playing field (one provise being that you could atificially set up a course to be both short and penal (rough) and with soft greens such that the additional length of the men is hopefullly negated). Annika had the option to chose which event to enter, and all those reasons of course set-up where in her mind when making the call.

Annika is testament to what a good gym program can do for a golfer - she has changed her body shape and know has much more muscular definition than she used to. She is hitting the ball 30 yards further that she was 3 years ago, but she is still losing 50 yards on the longer half of the guys. There are holes out there where the guys are flying their drives straight over dog-leg corners that Annika can't hope to clear, and on those holes they are gaining up to 100 metres. I was seeing the top 20% of the guys hit 9 irons from 150 yds into the 3rd, and Annika played the hole fantatically and as well as she could, but she hit a wood from 240 yds. The fact that she put that wood shot inside all the other guys 9 irons is testament to her skill, and as the #1 golfer in the LPGA that skill has proven itself and has my respect.

It is true that the longer hitters aren't always the best players, but power is a huge advantage. The shorter clubs are easier to control, so you want to be hitting short approaches. The better of the male golfers will have as good a golf game as Annika PLUS the physical advantage of length. Much of the low scoring (birdies and eagles) takes place on par 5's and the longer guys just physically overpower those holes.

Do I see regular female competition in the PGA in the future - no. Do I see equality of the sexes in golf - not anytime soon. Do I enjoy seeing some of the best women golfers in the world testing themselves against the guys - to get a sense of the other world and to how they would stand - yes, sure. I would start by letting the leading money winner on the LPGA pick a PGA event to enter in if she so choses (I think Annika was brave to face this media circus, and has tremendous inner strength). Let things evolve by how successful that proves over the years. If the women keep taking up the challenge, and start to make cuts and perform well, then look at how the game can evolve towards further equalitles.

Heck - we may even see a female member of Augusta National, or Royal St Georges by those times .

[TheCrimsomBlade]

Now she is dead meat and doesn't make the cut,and now there are no women in the open,is everybody happy?

I HATE GOLF!! I play all the time but I hate it I think I'll just stick with shooting pistols at least I'm really great at that.

[Lord Starshadow]

She didn't look too bad out there. I was really impressed by her ability to hit the ball so straight. I wish I could hit as many fairways off the tee as she does.

She played well, but she had a bad stretch of holes during the middle of her second round. As many of those who play the game know, if you have one bad hole, it can lead to a lot more, and she just couldn't recover from that. Also, she did not putt well at all. If you're not putting well, you're not going to shoot well, and I think that hurt her the most.

But in the end, I must say that I was impressed. Not with just the way she played, but with her handling of the whole situation, the good and the bad.

[Davros]

Originally posted by TheCrimsomBlade: Now she is dead meat and doesn't make the cut,and now there are no women in the open,is everybody happy? I HATE GOLF!! I play all the time but I hate it I think I'll just stick with shooting pistols at least I'm really great at that.

Displaying tact Mr Butterknife - that's not something I am used to - age seems to be mellowing you [img]smile.gif[/img] .

No, she didn't make the cut, but she made a good fist of it. I think that she played golf that she would be proud of, and been disappointed about her putting performance.

Is everyone happy that she is out - well clearly some are (as the Scarlet Poignard seems to be) and some aren't, but in the end it really isn't about them anyway. It was about Annika testing herself against the men at their own game - I think she will be disappointed in not making the cut, but there were some real positives in the way she handled herself under intense media glare with the expectations of so many upon her.

There is something I am wondering though Mr Blade and perhaps you can give me an insight. Golf is not what I would term an inexpensive sport. Now granted, some people play for money and riches, but I imagine that unless I misread you, you are not in fact a professional golfer. Most other people play for enjoyment or the challenge of bettering one's abilities. It's hard to imagine why someone would recreationally play such an expensive sport (green fees, Membership fees, golf clubs, shoes, new ball per round), and do so "all the time" if someone "HATES GOLF".

Just think how this financial burden is limiting your shooting development for one - like how many extra bullets could you buy to splatter at those pieces of paper on the shooting range wall if you just stopped playing golf "all the time". Also the time commitment is interfering in potential shooting practice sessions - you could be more than "really great" if you focussed on your priorities. Stay positive - "really really greatness" is just about the corner you know.

[TheCrimsomBlade]

I was really hopeing that she would win and shut all those nose in the air male golfers mouths. I didn't bet on her or anyone else. I just would have been really happy had she at least made the cut, oh well maybe next year. I do like the fact that she did alot better than many of the men and it did shut the mouth of a buddy of mine buy having every game she shot at least 3 strokes better than his best ever. His wife will never let him live it down after all the crud he said about women's golf and they have no reason to play in a mans game. His older brother told him they need a caddy down at the Putt Putt mini Golf and he would do just fine there. Boy was he pissed after that he told his brother to go "F" himself and left the house. Temper Temper. [img]graemlins/1pissed.gif[/img]