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Reader's Forum Question: Annika Sorenstam finished second to Fred Couples in last week's Skins Game, beating Phil Mickelson and Mark O'Meara to take home $225,000. Did Sorenstam fall short, meet or exceed your expectations? Your Responses: Annika played well, but was not really a factor in the game, notwithstanding her $225,000. $175,000 of her total came on a once in a lifetime holing out from a fairway bunker--not something anyone would expect, and involving equal parts skill and luck. She played fairly solidly, but was at a decided disadvantage on the long par 3 and on her approaches into the longer par 4's. She did well, but probably no better than any one of several of the top echelon of women's golfers would have done. C. Ramer Yes! She did! She's the BEST! Wouldn't you imagine that she is, pound for pound, the BEST golfer in the world? C. Dzarnowski Annika clearly exceeded expectations with her magnificent play. She actually had the lowest score of all players and could well have won the event with a putt on the first playoff hole. Her shot on the 9h was masterful and will remain part of Skins game lore. I hope she gets invited next year to play with Tiger Woods. She not only has a positive influence on women's golf but on golf in general. J. Brag All I can say is, Go FRED Go!!! J. Stoddard I was not easy with Annika competing with the men in the summer, but in the skins game I thought that she proved the tortoise and the hare theory. Yes she pushed it off the tee when trying to keep up with the 'boys', but then she showed to perfection that the short game is still the great leveller. I still do not want the women to play in the men's tournaments but then that's probably because I remain a bit of a chauvinist. But I could be coming round to the other view. I never ever thought I'd say that. Well not in public anyway! B.D. Fairweather Exceeded my expectations. She handles pressure and the media spotlight amazingly well. D. Cole Annika exceeded my expectations at the "Skins" game. Hopefully she will be invited back next season! Any thing golf can do to encourage more women golfers will help the overall economy in the golf industry! D. Ballenger For the most part, did try to stay close to the Guys. Must say she does drive straight, putting leaves a lot to be desired! The FLUKE out of the sand trap on Saturday, totally awesome, but what else did she do? Freddy didn't hit a fairway on Sunday, but still managed to win a lot of SKINS! This GUY is just incredible! R. Laslett She met all my expectations. P. Owens Annika definitely meet expectations. She showed,again,what a great player she is in golf. W. Leonard She shouldn't be there. If you want the Skins Game to be popular again get some guys with personality, who are playing well. It's no fun to watch guys miss 3-4 footers for birdie. Annika played well but it showed the difference between the men and ladies. She couldn't compete, she made a great, but lucky shot on one hole. Her other birdie was a fairly long putt after the line was given to her by the great putting of Couples. She wasn't really in the mix on many other holes. The announcers kept making excuses for her every time she missed a green... "oh she's trying to hard," "she's pushing too much." The fact is, she is a great golfer, but is only able to compete with "hanger ons" like Mark O'Meara, or world class players like Mickelson when he's in a slump and swinging like he is still trying to play baseball. The thought of him playing pro baseball is as ridiculous as the thought Annika can compete with the upper tier players we want to see in a skins game. I personally would have been more interested in the Skins Game, if it showed some guys (people who are hungry) perhaps a couple of those guys who were fighting it out for the PGA Championship. Maybe the British Open champ. Even some of those up and coming guys (people) around 125 on the money list, would be hungrier than letting Annika try to convince us she can compete with men. If they wanted interesting, replay Vijay's comments and then let he and Annika go head to head. If she can win that, then we will know she can compete with the boys! S. Mitchell Exceeded (What a class act!) P. Sharpe I think Annika did just fine. She showed everyone that accuracy and finesse were more important than seeing how far one can hit the ball. This should be a lesson to all golfers. L. Silver
Opinions expressed in Reader's Forum are those of the individual letter writers and not of The Wire, its staff or its editorial board. Letters are edited to remove spelling and grammatical errors where possible, and The Wire staff reserves the right to edit for space. |