FORT WORTH – A supremely confident Annika Sorenstam yesterday declared herself ready to compete in the otherwise all-male Bank of America Colonial that begins tomorrow, and added she has every intention to make the 36-hole cut and play through Sunday.
Sorenstam made it clear yesterday she wants no leniency from her male counterparts. On the first hole of their practice round yesterday at the par-70 Colonial, Jesper Parnevik offered to give Sorenstam strokes to balance a friendly wager. Sorenstam wanted no charity from her fellow Swede. “I told him I’m not here to get any shots,” she said. “He didn’t say much more after that.”
Sorenstam’s drive sailed into the right rough. She advanced the ball up the fairway, but still had 190 yards left to the green on the 565-yard hole that most players reach in two. Her 5-iron went short and right, hopping into a right bunker.
“If I wait another week, three months or three years, I won’t be any more prepared,” said Sorenstam, who will be the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event. “I’m ready to go. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to enjoy the week.”
She wants to enjoy the weekend, too. Flowing with confidence about her preparation and ability to play under pressure, Sorenstam told a packed press conference that she is gunning to shoot even par, make the cut and savor the experience of playing 72 holes against the game’s longest and strongest players.
“I feel like I’m playing as good as I have all year,” Sorenstam said. “So I’m very optimistic that I will leave Sunday. But we’ll see what happens. If I play good, that’s all that matters to me.”
Sorenstam, competing on a sponsor’s exemption, will tee-off at 9:58 a.m. EDT tomorrow. She’ll play with two rookies, Dean Wilson of Hawaii and Aaron Barber of Maple Grove, Minn. Neither seemed threatened by the possibility of being beaten the No.1-ranked player on the LPGA Tour.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to play in front of a huge crowd,” said Barber, who finished fourth at Tucson this year. Added Wilson, “I think it will be great to be alongside her and watch how someone like her handles herself in this situation.”
The morning practice round was halted after three shots when the course was closed because of rain. She resumed her round in the afternoon, playing with Sergio Garcia, Parnevik and Tim Clark. Through the front nine Sorenstam held her own either reaching the green in regulation and being close enough to scramble for par, though she didn’t’ putt out on most of the greens.
Sorenstam, who averaged about 275 yards off the tee, hit 7-wood from about 185 yards on the longest par 4s, on holes three, five and seven where Garcia was hitting middle irons into the green. On the majority of the angled holes, Garcia was hitting iron off the tees, nullifying any length advantage he might of had.
Generally, Sorenstam was about 25 yards behind her playing partners off the tee and seemed to be targeting her approach shots to the front of the greens, hoping for a healthy roll when the course firms up later in the week. Garcia quit after 16 holes yesterday, but Sorenstam played all 18 holes with Parnevik and Clark. She looked at ease during the round, despite admitted being, “overwhelmed,” at the interest generated from her acceptance of a sponsor’s exemption.
“Suddenly, everybody is an expert on my game, and how I think and some of them have never seen me play,” she said. “It’s just funny that everybody’s involved in this. I take it as a compliment. I’d like to play well this week and show them . . . That’s why I’m here and I’m serious.”
Tomorrow’s Group of the Day
Annika Sorenstam
Age: 32
2003 Earnings: $554,501
Years on Tour: 9
Years Pro: 10
Aaron Barber
Age: 30
2003 Earnings: $238,750
Years on Tour: 1
Years Pro: 7
Best PGA Tour Finish: T4 2003 Chrysler Classic of Tucson
Dean Wilson
Age: 33
2003 Earnings: $441,440
Years on Tour: 1
Years Pro: 11
Best PGA Tour Finish: T6 2003 Chrysler Classic of Tucson