This is an absolute joke. It has nothing to do with women's rights or any other crap like that. The women have their own tour. Do you know what would happen if a male played on the LPGA from the women's tees? If you took the 100th ranked PGA player and let him play from the ladies tees, he wouild dominate. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/story?id=1506978
I don't really care one way or the other. I just don't really understand what this is supposed to prove. So, a women golfer can be a mediocre participant in a men's tournament?
Like Tiger said....if she plays well, it will be a nice boost for womens golf...but if she plays like crap, its going to push the LPGA further down the ladder
Well the course it perfect for her to compete (just over 7000 yards). So distance shouldn't be an issue for her, just the fact that she'll b ehitting driver and the men will be hittign 2 irons on alot of holes. I totally agree with Tiger. She will have a lot of pressure on her. I would guess a good weekend for her would be making the cut? Can we expect anything more than that?
If she's good enough to compete with the men, then what's the problem? She should be able to play in the best league she can compete in.
So then should a male golfer who cannot make a living playing the men's tour be able to play the women's tour where he would be a top 5 money winner?
You're right, it isn't a joke. It's simply a superior athlete accepting a greater challenge. Annika was invited by a tournament sponsor to play in this event (sponsors are given the ability to invite guests of their choosing to play in the tournament). I don't blame her for accepting. She is at the absolute top of her game, and there is no one on the LPGA tour that even comes close to her skill level. She, most likely, just wants to see how her skills stack up against the big boys of the sport. Incidentally, she is playing from the men's tees, so there's no unfair advantage.
Im not saying that there is an unfair advantage. I think it will be great for women's golf if she plays well. However, should a male golfer be able to compete on the womens tour from the womens tees?
Nah, that's different. There's a women's league because women aren't on par physically with men. They have that disadvantage but they still want to compete and it's still a decent league. The LPGA may not be popular but it's not going broke either. But if you start letting physically weak men into it then you are ruining the whole point of the league. It would become a "crappy players" league instead of a women's league. But if there happens to be one woman who can actually be physically on par with men, then why not let her go for it in the "real" league?
Exactly, if she's good enough to play with the men, then let her. If men aren't quite good enough for the PGA, then they should be able to play with the women from the womens tees.
If we did that, we'd end up with a major league and a minor league. And both would be dominated by men. Think about it. Women want to play too.
What, kind of like a safety net for crappy male golfers? I though that's what the Senior Tour was for. Isn't the goal of sports to always take your abilities to the highest level? It's clear to everyone that the PGA is the absolute pinnacle of golf talent in the world. So now that we have the one woman in more than 50 years who MAY have the ability to compete in one men's tournament -- you want to cry foul? I think it's a compliment to the PGA. If the calibre of talent in the PGA wasn't so much higher, Annika would have no interest in competing in this tournament.
Or the Nike Tour, or the Buy.com Tour (if it's still around). I can't believe you guys are upset about this, I'll actually be rooting for her to do well. I wish Hootie & the boys would invite her to play the Masters, just to shut Ms. Burke up.
That is sooooooooooooooooooo stupid, of course the men can beat the women. Do you really think a male golfer would be proud to win an LPGA event. Would you be proud about beating a woman if you were a pro golfer. That wouldn't be a story. Its just something to make it interesting. You don't have to feel insulted about your male rights. Who Cares?
No ****, man. People get pissy at the dumbest things. There is absolutely no harm in her playing this tournament and like you, I'll be rooting for her too...hopefully in person.
If I were a pro golfer , struggling to keep my tour card, I would have no problem playing on the women's tour earning 6 figures per week as opposed to living out of my car on the men's tour.
What about the buy.com or the Nike tours? It all comes down to an issue of fairness. What is more fair-a man playing in a tourney with all other women or a woman playing in one with all other men? In one of those examples, someone's got the obvious advantage, strength-wise.
