Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Interview With Susan Reed, Tom Callahan
Aired May 14, 2003 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time since World War II, a woman will go out and compete on the PGA tour. Annika Sorenstam, considered to be the best female golfer in the world, takes a swing at the Colonial Golf Tournament next week. Now, that's not sitting too well with some of the guys out there. Vijay Singh, for one.
He had this to say about it -- quoting here -- "I hope she misses the cut. Why? Because she doesn't belong out here. What is she going to prove by playing? It is ridiculous. She is the best woman golfer in the world, and I want to emphasize 'woman.' We have a tour for men, and they have their tour. She is taking a spot from someone in the field."
Now, Singh later backtracked a bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIJAY SINGH, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: It was no attack on Annika at all. I mean, if -- like I said, if I did and she -- you know, I'd like to apologize to her. It was not put that way. It just came out the wrong way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the cameras caught it. So let's talk about Singh's choice of words with Susan Reed. She's the editor of "Golf for Women" magazine.
Also joining us now, Tom Callahan. He's the author of a book about golf, "In Search of Tiger: A Journey Through Golf with Tiger Woods."
Both guests join us from New York this morning. Glad to have you folks with us, and I've got to say a lot of folks that we've been reading e-mails from this morning, some of them have been siding with Vijay, but it seems like most of the folks out there e-mailing us are siding with Annika on this one. Susan, what do you think about that?
SUSAN REED, "GOLF FOR WOMEN": Well, I think that -- put it this way. Phil Mickelson was a little more gracious than Vijay about Annika wanting to play in this event, and he said it's great that she's coming out here, and it's great that she's testing herself against the best people in the world, and I hope she gets in the top 20. I just hope I get in the top 20 a little higher than her.
HARRIS: Yes. He wants to be number 19 if she's 20. Tom, what do you think about this? Now, I know you think she doesn't have the talent to actually compete out there, but should she be allowed to compete?
TOM CALLAHAN, AUTHOR, "IN SEARCH OF TIGER": Sure. In my business, Leon, we tend to root for the best story. The best story is she wins the tournament, or the second best story is she plays four days and beats Vijay.
HARRIS: Yes. I read this morning that seeing her appear with Vijay at, maybe, the last round would be sort of like seeing Fuzzy Zoeller and Tiger walking around after that "fried chicken" comment Fuzzy had before the Masters a couple of years ago.
I know -- do you expect any fireworks at all? And let me ask you this, first of all. Forget the fireworks, but when the tournament actually is played, Tiger Woods is not going to be there, does that help or hurt Annika in this case? What do you think, Tom?
CALLAHAN: Well, I think it's -- the spotlight was going to be on her regardless. If he'd have been there, that might have taken a little fire away, but I think she's -- she's in the fire, and I don't think it makes much difference.
HARRIS: Yes. Well, Susan, some of the women golfers out there are talking, and some of them actually aren't really encouraging her because they're afraid that if she gets out there and gets beaten badly, it looks bad for the entire LPGA tour.
CALLAHAN: Well, I don't think that that's really an issue. Annika wants to test herself against the best players in the world. It's a one-time deal. She's not storming the ranks of the PGA. She hasn't said that she wants to lead (ph) the PGA. She just wants to test herself this one day, or this one tournament, and it will be really fun. People are talking about it around water coolers all over America.
HARRIS: They're talking about it over our e-mail system big- time. Let's get a look at some more of the e-mails that have been coming in this morning. We asked the question the first time, I guess, around 10:00 or so. We have got hundreds of e-mails in right now.
This one from Flaun. "I am sorry. Did I miss something? Who does Vijay Singh think he is? Billie Jean King settled the men over women argument against Bobby Riggs. This type of Neanderthal thinking has no place in the 21st Century."
Interesting.
I have this one in my hand here from Frank who says that "since golf is not a sport" -- I'll let both of you think about this one -- "since golf is not a sport but a skill like pool or darts, women should be able to compete with men."
Tom, is it not a sport? CALLAHAN: I think it's a sport. I think there's hand-eye coordination involved, and I think if you look at Tiger Woods, he's an Olympic class athlete. There are a few golfers who look like sports writers in unmade beds (ph). There always have been. A lot of them have been very fine golfers.
You know, this is a one-shot deal, which is very hard. Phil Mickelson shot 80 this year, Tiger shot 80 in the British last year. Whatever she does, it isn't going to be definitive, but you look at the women's tour day after day on television, and it's shocking how poorly they putt, how poorly they chip, things that logically they should be able to do. Her problem isn't going to be length or strength. It's going to be getting the ball up and down.
HARRIS: How about that, Susan? Do you think she's got the skills? Do you think she's got the game?
REED: I think she's got plenty of game, and I think it's going to be really interesting. The question is that nobody knows, really, how she's going to do. But what's interesting to me about Annika Sorenstam is I think that she has raised the level of women's golf in the last couple of years by improving her physical performance and her strength. The same way Martina Navratilova raised women's tennis 20 years ago, I think Annika Sorenstam is raising the level of physical performance in women's golf.
HARRIS: All right. One more e-mail here. This from Luke in Post Falls, Idaho. "Annika Sorenstam has as much right to play in the PGA as any male. How are we to know how good of a player she is unless we let her?"
Which leads me to a point that Tiger Woods made this morning in the press. How about letting her play a number of events? Having her play in only one isn't really going to settle it, is it? Tom?
CALLAHAN: I think that would be a fairer test, but it's still -- as I say, it's asking a lot. She's on a golf course that's a little shorter, but it's a bear of a course, Colonial. It starts very easily with a easy par 5, and there's a short par 4. Then there's three incredibly long par 4s. We'll know pretty quickly whether she can handle it.
HARRIS: All right. On the way out, real quickly, give us -- just a number from both of you. Where is she going to finish, Susan?
REED: I'd say 145.
HARRIS: Tom?
CALLAHAN: I think she'll shoot 72-78, and she'll beat one man. One of the guys playing with her won't be able to handle the pressure.
HARRIS: This is going to be fun to see. Tom Callahan, Susan Reed. Thanks. Hope to talk to you all later on about this. This is going to be a lot of fun to watch at least.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 14, 2003 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time since World War II, a woman will go out and compete on the PGA tour. Annika Sorenstam, considered to be the best female golfer in the world, takes a swing at the Colonial Golf Tournament next week. Now, that's not sitting too well with some of the guys out there. Vijay Singh, for one.
He had this to say about it -- quoting here -- "I hope she misses the cut. Why? Because she doesn't belong out here. What is she going to prove by playing? It is ridiculous. She is the best woman golfer in the world, and I want to emphasize 'woman.' We have a tour for men, and they have their tour. She is taking a spot from someone in the field."
Now, Singh later backtracked a bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIJAY SINGH, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: It was no attack on Annika at all. I mean, if -- like I said, if I did and she -- you know, I'd like to apologize to her. It was not put that way. It just came out the wrong way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the cameras caught it. So let's talk about Singh's choice of words with Susan Reed. She's the editor of "Golf for Women" magazine.
Also joining us now, Tom Callahan. He's the author of a book about golf, "In Search of Tiger: A Journey Through Golf with Tiger Woods."
Both guests join us from New York this morning. Glad to have you folks with us, and I've got to say a lot of folks that we've been reading e-mails from this morning, some of them have been siding with Vijay, but it seems like most of the folks out there e-mailing us are siding with Annika on this one. Susan, what do you think about that?
SUSAN REED, "GOLF FOR WOMEN": Well, I think that -- put it this way. Phil Mickelson was a little more gracious than Vijay about Annika wanting to play in this event, and he said it's great that she's coming out here, and it's great that she's testing herself against the best people in the world, and I hope she gets in the top 20. I just hope I get in the top 20 a little higher than her.
HARRIS: Yes. He wants to be number 19 if she's 20. Tom, what do you think about this? Now, I know you think she doesn't have the talent to actually compete out there, but should she be allowed to compete?
TOM CALLAHAN, AUTHOR, "IN SEARCH OF TIGER": Sure. In my business, Leon, we tend to root for the best story. The best story is she wins the tournament, or the second best story is she plays four days and beats Vijay.
HARRIS: Yes. I read this morning that seeing her appear with Vijay at, maybe, the last round would be sort of like seeing Fuzzy Zoeller and Tiger walking around after that "fried chicken" comment Fuzzy had before the Masters a couple of years ago.
I know -- do you expect any fireworks at all? And let me ask you this, first of all. Forget the fireworks, but when the tournament actually is played, Tiger Woods is not going to be there, does that help or hurt Annika in this case? What do you think, Tom?
CALLAHAN: Well, I think it's -- the spotlight was going to be on her regardless. If he'd have been there, that might have taken a little fire away, but I think she's -- she's in the fire, and I don't think it makes much difference.
HARRIS: Yes. Well, Susan, some of the women golfers out there are talking, and some of them actually aren't really encouraging her because they're afraid that if she gets out there and gets beaten badly, it looks bad for the entire LPGA tour.
CALLAHAN: Well, I don't think that that's really an issue. Annika wants to test herself against the best players in the world. It's a one-time deal. She's not storming the ranks of the PGA. She hasn't said that she wants to lead (ph) the PGA. She just wants to test herself this one day, or this one tournament, and it will be really fun. People are talking about it around water coolers all over America.
HARRIS: They're talking about it over our e-mail system big- time. Let's get a look at some more of the e-mails that have been coming in this morning. We asked the question the first time, I guess, around 10:00 or so. We have got hundreds of e-mails in right now.
This one from Flaun. "I am sorry. Did I miss something? Who does Vijay Singh think he is? Billie Jean King settled the men over women argument against Bobby Riggs. This type of Neanderthal thinking has no place in the 21st Century."
Interesting.
I have this one in my hand here from Frank who says that "since golf is not a sport" -- I'll let both of you think about this one -- "since golf is not a sport but a skill like pool or darts, women should be able to compete with men."
Tom, is it not a sport? CALLAHAN: I think it's a sport. I think there's hand-eye coordination involved, and I think if you look at Tiger Woods, he's an Olympic class athlete. There are a few golfers who look like sports writers in unmade beds (ph). There always have been. A lot of them have been very fine golfers.
You know, this is a one-shot deal, which is very hard. Phil Mickelson shot 80 this year, Tiger shot 80 in the British last year. Whatever she does, it isn't going to be definitive, but you look at the women's tour day after day on television, and it's shocking how poorly they putt, how poorly they chip, things that logically they should be able to do. Her problem isn't going to be length or strength. It's going to be getting the ball up and down.
HARRIS: How about that, Susan? Do you think she's got the skills? Do you think she's got the game?
REED: I think she's got plenty of game, and I think it's going to be really interesting. The question is that nobody knows, really, how she's going to do. But what's interesting to me about Annika Sorenstam is I think that she has raised the level of women's golf in the last couple of years by improving her physical performance and her strength. The same way Martina Navratilova raised women's tennis 20 years ago, I think Annika Sorenstam is raising the level of physical performance in women's golf.
HARRIS: All right. One more e-mail here. This from Luke in Post Falls, Idaho. "Annika Sorenstam has as much right to play in the PGA as any male. How are we to know how good of a player she is unless we let her?"
Which leads me to a point that Tiger Woods made this morning in the press. How about letting her play a number of events? Having her play in only one isn't really going to settle it, is it? Tom?
CALLAHAN: I think that would be a fairer test, but it's still -- as I say, it's asking a lot. She's on a golf course that's a little shorter, but it's a bear of a course, Colonial. It starts very easily with a easy par 5, and there's a short par 4. Then there's three incredibly long par 4s. We'll know pretty quickly whether she can handle it.
HARRIS: All right. On the way out, real quickly, give us -- just a number from both of you. Where is she going to finish, Susan?
REED: I'd say 145.
HARRIS: Tom?
CALLAHAN: I think she'll shoot 72-78, and she'll beat one man. One of the guys playing with her won't be able to handle the pressure.
HARRIS: This is going to be fun to see. Tom Callahan, Susan Reed. Thanks. Hope to talk to you all later on about this. This is going to be a lot of fun to watch at least.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
