I think that Annika is certainly a better golfer than Michelle at this stage. I also think the gap is bigger than most people realise.
But on mens courses, I think Annika played pretty well at the Colonial, but had a huge amount of trouble, due to not driving the ball far enough and leaving herself with very long approach shots, which she just could not keep on the green.It is in that department where Michelle is able to compete better.
As regards Wie winning more lpga titles than Annika, I doubt it because if she gets good enough to be capable of doing it, she'll probably be plying her trade on the pga tour more often, and just playing maybe 10 lpga events per season. Even if she were to win 5 of those, it would take quite a while to catch Annika's total which will probably exceed 80 tournament wins.
yeah i agree that Wie has a huge length advantage over virtually anyone on the LPGA, and you think its gonna be her length that will help more than anything on the PGA? poor old Freddie Funk.
but after all that, i agree with you that she WILL have the game to compete in the mens league, but dont think she will be able to compete properly all the time this attention is on her.
Did I make myself clear? Finchem better get off his PC butt and rewrite what is and is not acceptable on the tour. It's a mens tour, for men! The women have their tour, so let them have their tour, and shut their mouths.
My goodness, do you realize that if you just substitute "negros" and "whites" for women and men in your statement, you sound just like the people opposed to integration in the 60's?
OU, political correctness is not a perjorative term. There are good, historical and societal reasons to attempt to be concious of people's differences. Is it carried to extremes sometimes.....sure! I submit that overdoing it is better than the alternative of being totally indifferent to the feelings of people different than you or me.
...But on mens courses, I think Annika played pretty well at the Colonial, but had a huge amount of trouble, due to not driving the ball far enough and leaving herself with very long approach shots, which she just could not keep on the green.It is in that department where Michelle is able to compete better.
Annika is more likely to win an LPGA event than Wie is. But, it's my opinion, that even at this early stage of Wie's development, she can outscore Annika on a PGA set up most of the time. Annika is consistant, but a short hitter, compared to Wie. Wie has the best chance of any of the women golfers to compete on the PGA. Hands down.
"feminist?" "you people?" Is that meant to be personally insulting? If so, be advised that I am flattered instead.
What it is with "you people" is that we refuse to be limited in our goals and desires by the opinions of small-minded people who want to rewrite the rules to suit themselves.
You, sir, are deliberately ignoring the facts such as that the PGA Tour, who claim to be for the best golfers in the world, does not have a gender policy and that it is not the responsibility of a female "star" to play on a lesser tour for less money and prestige to "support" that tour merely because she is female! Nor is it the responsibility of a European "star" to leave the PGA and play exclusively in Europe to support that tour! Nor an Australian, or Japanese, etc!
But do you rail at the International players who choose to play on a better, more lucrative Tour? No.....because they, so far, are male. Your problem, sir, is that you are (forgive me, mods) a flaming MCP!
"feminist?" "you people?" Is that meant to be personally insulting? If so, be advised that I am flattered instead.
What it is with "you people" is that we refuse to be limited in our goals and desires by the opinions of small-minded people who want to rewrite the rules to suit themselves.
You, sir, are deliberately ignoring the facts such as that the PGA Tour, who claim to be for the best golfers in the world, does not have a gender policy and that it is not the responsibility of a female "star" to play on a lesser tour for less money and prestige to "support" that tour merely because she is female! Nor is it the responsibility of a European "star" to leave the PGA and play exclusively in Europe to support that tour! Nor an Australian, or Japanese, etc!
But do you rail at the International players who choose to play on a better, more lucrative Tour? No.....because they, so far, are male. Your problem, sir, is that you are (forgive me, mods) a flaming MCP!
Of course the LPGA is the weaker tour! Whoever said it wasn't? So are the Nationwide, Hooters, and other tours around the world. For that very reason, exceptional players of all nationalities and even gender aspire to play on the PGA Tour! Is every man in one of the feeder tours capable of playing at PGA Tour level? Of course not. Does that mean they shouldn't continue to try and get better and get there? Or that we should disband all the feeder tours simply because not everyone wants to stay there.
To directly answer your question, I won't speak for Annika who has expressed no interest in further ventures into the PGA Tour. However, it is pretty obvious that Michelle Wie's plans for her future are to be so good and so competitive that, NO, the LPGA would not be good enough for her. Will her plans come to fruition? Who knows....she has a long way to go before she is even old enough to join any tour. However, WHY would you want to deny her the opportunity to even attempt to earn a PGA Tour card? Just because she is female?
It's not apples and oranges at all! These people....Internationals, Americans not yet qualified for the PGA tour, and LPGA/female players are all golfers. If they can play well enough to succeed on the best tour in the world, why would you want to limit them? Does a female achieving in what you perceive as a man's domain frighten you in some way?
Why do insist on infiltrating a tour that is clearly meant for men? What is it with you people? I just don't get it. How can you not see the damage that is done to the LPGA by the stars of that tour that want to abandon it?
It is not clearly meant for men. It is meant for the best players. I believe that the best players will continue to be for the vast majority male players. However, if any female is good enough, she is welcome to try it.
As regards damaging the lpga and abandoning it.
First take Annika. She has played 1 pga event. She has played, how many, maybe several hundred lpga events. How can you accuse her of abandoning the lpga tour.
Next Wie. She plays 8 lpga events, the maximum she is allowed. She has in no ways abandoned the lpga tour. In fact, she has played the maximum number of tournaments that she has been allowed to play on the lpga tour.
She even asked them to let her play more events, but they refused her request. So you can't accuse her of abandoning them either.
Wow...Didn't mean to start a MEN vs. WOMEN thread...but I'll chime in...It is the PGA right? Professional Golf Association, right? Not PMGA as far as I know...never has been, never will be. If M.W. is good enough to compete with the men, why shouldn't she. Next thing you know we'll be banning the European tour members because they should be playing on their tour back home. I know from playing competitive golf myself back in college that the better the level of your competition the more you improve (if you are a competitor) And to say she hasn't gotten better over the last couple of years is ludicrous. What color is the sky in your world, anyway? Like I said, I was not a big M.W. rah-rah, but the girl's got Game with a capital G. I bet you could have heard the same argument about Tiger not too many years ago. Who was that black man that was playing on the PGA tour before Charlie Sifford? Oh...wait a minute...there wasn't one. When Mr. Sifford talks about breaking into the tour he isn't bringing up happy memories: "They had rules," he said. "Everytime I won, they changed the rules. I kept fighting them. I don't have too many friends in the USGA or PGA." That happened in 1961. I know it's showing my age but...That's during MY lifetime. Watch the girl play! How can you say (with a straight face) that she's just about the attention? That girl has played in 11 major championships, of which she has registered eight top-10 finishes. She has played in three LPGA events in 2006, The Fields Open in Hawaii, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. In each she has had a chance to win, placing third, a tie for third and tie for fifth. Oops...did I forget the 2006 U.S. women's open where she finished tied for third at 2 stokes in back of the woman most people consider to be the best women's golfer of all time? (Nope...I didn't, but apparently some people did!) How old is this girl again? Oh...that's right...she's 16. What had Tiger done on the tour at 16? Well, since his first victory was at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational when he was a lot closer to 20 than 16, I guess Michelle might not have any reason to hide her head in shame after all... Sorry I got on a rant...Everybody is entitled to their opinion but to question the quality of her game is just WRONG!!!
Good post, inconsistent! One caveat - I prefer to think of the discussion as being among those who have joined the 21st century and those stuck in the early 20th! LOL
July 4th, 2006, 04:43 PM
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