Just because Annika Sorenstam didn't make the cut doesn't mean she should give up. Sorenstam didn't get to fully compete in the Bank of America Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, last weekend, but she wasn't alone.
The 16th-ranked player in the world, Bob Estes, didn't make the cut either. Neither did the 2002 Players champion Craig Perks, or the 1996 PGA champion Mark Brooks, for that matter. So this shouldn't be the end for Sorenstam.
Sorenstam played very well, only missing the cut by four strokes, largely due to her putting. She kept up with the men's driving, but her focus on the greens was obviously hampered by the pressure to make the cut.
Hey, even Tiger Woods doesn't make every cut. She was under heavy pressure from not only the media but her fellow golfers. But that is no reason for Sorenstam to back down from the PGA.
She shouldn't worry about winning tournaments or setting records by going back to the LPGA. She made golf more enjoyable for a week.
Those previously uninterested by the sport were glued to their TV sets, or at least made it a point to keep an eye on the leaderboard. And more importantly, she showed the world women can compete with men.
After all, Sorenstam is the first woman to play on the PGA Tour since the 1940s, and most likely she won't be the last.
Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie made a big bang with her first appearance in an LPGA major - the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship. The eighth-grader played good enough to swing beside Sorenstam and the tour's winner, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc. Even though she is only 13, Wie is one of the longest hitters to appear on an LPGA Tour, hitting her drives as far as 40 yards - farther than most other players on the tour. One day she could be in the same spot as Sorenstam.
Sorenstam's Colonial cut should be forgotten, especially when compared to what she's doing for golf. If you combine the three months prior to the Colonial and the two rounds she spent as the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour, Sorenstam brought more attention to women's golf than ever before.
Media requests have doubled and advance ticket sales for the LPGA's Kellogg-Keebler Classic are up 50 percent. Sorenstam's mere presence at the Colonial improved the ratings on CBS by 4 percent from 2002, even though she didn't play two days of the tournament.
Sorenstam has said, "I know where I belong," indicating she has no plans to return to the PGA. Yet Sorenstam should continue to compete on the PGA because she has proven to be a worthy competitor.
With recent years marking an unprecedented drive toward gender equity in sports, there's no reason for Sorenstam to bow out after just one go.
Inevitably, the female version of Tiger Woods will make her appearance. Maybe it's Wie or maybe she's yet to be known.
And when she does show up, she should be able to compete with the best golfers in the world,whether it be on the PGA or LPGA tour. And - with good reason - she will have Sorenstam to thank.
