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American Morning

Teeing It Up

Aired May 21, 2003 - 08:36   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: What is at stake for Annika Sorenstam in the world of golf? From L.A. today, Seth Davis joins us from "Sports Illustrated," just writing a piece on what the men believe and their attitude toward this. Also here in New York, Donna De Varona, ABC sports commentator, two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Good to see you, Donna, again. Good morning to you.

What are the stakes right now for the LPGA? What could this do for women's golf?

DONNA DE VARONA, ABC SPORTS: I think it's been great for women's golf already. I mean, Annika Sorenstam has won, you know, 43 tournaments, four majors. She shot a round of 59. And you really didn't hear much about her until she decided to challenge the men.

HEMMER: What if it doesn't go well?

DE VARONA: I think it will go well, there is no question. I feel she's already won, because she's had the courage to try to elevate her game, and it's all about the athlete. You know, Tiger Woods has been there for her, basically been a mentor to her. And for athletes, it's about raising the level, about reaching for excellence, and I think that's her journey and her story.

HEMMER: She says she wants the challenge, and she will get it bigtime this week.

DE VARONA: She will.

HEMMER: Hey, Seth, I've heard a number of opinions from the men about how they feel about this. What did you find in your reporting for "SI?"

SETH DAVIS, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, we found that a lot of them are not happy, Bill. I think a lot of people, unfortunately, on the men's tour do feel the way Vijay Singh felt and articulated at the tournament in Charlotte.

In fact, Earlier in the year, "Sports Illustrated" did a players' poll, and we found 71 percent of the men on tour do not believe that women should be allowed to play their tour.

So I don't know if we're ready to call -- this is the first time this is happening in 58 years. Susie Waley (ph), who's a club pro, is going to be playing at Hartford. So it's hard to call this a trend, but certainly, I do agree with Donna, that in many ways Annika Sorenstam has already won by simply putting herself in this situation.

HEMMER: Well listening to her talk yesterday, she said she might have been a bit naive based on the amount of attention coming her way. Did she underestimate this?

DE VARONA: Yes. And when I heard that she was going to accept the invitation, I thought, oh my gosh, this is going to be big, because I was around when Billie Jean King won the battle of the sexes against Bobby Riggs, and this has kind of come full circle, except this is the real deal. Annika is in there with the guys on the tour.

HEMMER: But there is a strategy, too, here, and the strategy for her, Seth, is to pick this course and play this course, because it suits her game, right? It's shorter, a number of dog legs, more strategic golf?

DAVIS: Less emphasis on distance off the tee, Bill. In fact, when Annika indicated she was interested in playing in a tournament, many tournaments called her agent, but Colonial was not one of them. This was her decision to play this course.

And I agree in Donna in the sense of her naivete. In fact, it's kind of funny, when people say that, well, this is a publicity stunt, anyone who knows Annika Sorenstam knows that she does not love this publicity. This is purely a competitive challenge that she set up for herself.

HEMMER: Seth, I asked Donna if there is a risk involved here. Is the risk for the PGA in allowing this to go on this week?

DAVIS: Well, you know, the men players seem to think so. I don't know what they're worried about. I mean, to me, this ridiculous argument about, well...

HEMMER: They might, right? I mean, she might be able to beat them, correct?

DAVIS: I guess that's what they're afraid of. What they're saying is, well, if women should play our tour, we should be allowed to play the women's tour, and that's obviously ridiculous. Annika Sorenstam is trying to overcome an inherent physical disadvantage this week, whereas a man would have a physical disadvantage of playing on the women's tour. So I don't what they're afraid of.

HEMMER: Yes, we'll find out, I guess, won't we?

DE VARONA: We know what they're afraid of, they don't want to be beat, and it's sad, because I think in most sports, at least i found in my sport of swimming, where I trained alongside men and trained in the pool with them, they always championed excellence. You know, if you can beat me, you can beat me.

HEMMER: Quickly here, does she get past round two?

DE VARONA: Yes. I think she does.

HEMMER: Seth?

DAVIS: Donna is more optimistic than I am. I think that...

HEMMER: You say no?

DAVIS: The difficulties of what she's doing, plus the pressure and attention. She is way out of our comfort zone. Listen, I hope I'm wrong, but I'll be shocked if she makes the cut.

HEMMER: Well, listen, we'll watch the gallery. You know, she tees off last tomorrow, I believe, and the gallery just has to be absolutely enormous following her.

DE VARONA: Right, the pressure is the big deal. She's just got to, like every athlete. Tiger is teaching her to stay focused.

HEMMER: Well, he does it better than anyone, no question. Donna De Varona, thank you. Seth Davis -- thanks, Seth. We'll find out tomorrow.

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 21, 2003 - 08:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: What is at stake for Annika Sorenstam in the world of golf? From L.A. today, Seth Davis joins us from "Sports Illustrated," just writing a piece on what the men believe and their attitude toward this. Also here in New York, Donna De Varona, ABC sports commentator, two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Good to see you, Donna, again. Good morning to you.

What are the stakes right now for the LPGA? What could this do for women's golf?

DONNA DE VARONA, ABC SPORTS: I think it's been great for women's golf already. I mean, Annika Sorenstam has won, you know, 43 tournaments, four majors. She shot a round of 59. And you really didn't hear much about her until she decided to challenge the men.

HEMMER: What if it doesn't go well?

DE VARONA: I think it will go well, there is no question. I feel she's already won, because she's had the courage to try to elevate her game, and it's all about the athlete. You know, Tiger Woods has been there for her, basically been a mentor to her. And for athletes, it's about raising the level, about reaching for excellence, and I think that's her journey and her story.

HEMMER: She says she wants the challenge, and she will get it bigtime this week.

DE VARONA: She will.

HEMMER: Hey, Seth, I've heard a number of opinions from the men about how they feel about this. What did you find in your reporting for "SI?"

SETH DAVIS, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, we found that a lot of them are not happy, Bill. I think a lot of people, unfortunately, on the men's tour do feel the way Vijay Singh felt and articulated at the tournament in Charlotte.

In fact, Earlier in the year, "Sports Illustrated" did a players' poll, and we found 71 percent of the men on tour do not believe that women should be allowed to play their tour.

So I don't know if we're ready to call -- this is the first time this is happening in 58 years. Susie Waley (ph), who's a club pro, is going to be playing at Hartford. So it's hard to call this a trend, but certainly, I do agree with Donna, that in many ways Annika Sorenstam has already won by simply putting herself in this situation.

HEMMER: Well listening to her talk yesterday, she said she might have been a bit naive based on the amount of attention coming her way. Did she underestimate this?

DE VARONA: Yes. And when I heard that she was going to accept the invitation, I thought, oh my gosh, this is going to be big, because I was around when Billie Jean King won the battle of the sexes against Bobby Riggs, and this has kind of come full circle, except this is the real deal. Annika is in there with the guys on the tour.

HEMMER: But there is a strategy, too, here, and the strategy for her, Seth, is to pick this course and play this course, because it suits her game, right? It's shorter, a number of dog legs, more strategic golf?

DAVIS: Less emphasis on distance off the tee, Bill. In fact, when Annika indicated she was interested in playing in a tournament, many tournaments called her agent, but Colonial was not one of them. This was her decision to play this course.

And I agree in Donna in the sense of her naivete. In fact, it's kind of funny, when people say that, well, this is a publicity stunt, anyone who knows Annika Sorenstam knows that she does not love this publicity. This is purely a competitive challenge that she set up for herself.

HEMMER: Seth, I asked Donna if there is a risk involved here. Is the risk for the PGA in allowing this to go on this week?

DAVIS: Well, you know, the men players seem to think so. I don't know what they're worried about. I mean, to me, this ridiculous argument about, well...

HEMMER: They might, right? I mean, she might be able to beat them, correct?

DAVIS: I guess that's what they're afraid of. What they're saying is, well, if women should play our tour, we should be allowed to play the women's tour, and that's obviously ridiculous. Annika Sorenstam is trying to overcome an inherent physical disadvantage this week, whereas a man would have a physical disadvantage of playing on the women's tour. So I don't what they're afraid of.

HEMMER: Yes, we'll find out, I guess, won't we?

DE VARONA: We know what they're afraid of, they don't want to be beat, and it's sad, because I think in most sports, at least i found in my sport of swimming, where I trained alongside men and trained in the pool with them, they always championed excellence. You know, if you can beat me, you can beat me.

HEMMER: Quickly here, does she get past round two?

DE VARONA: Yes. I think she does.

HEMMER: Seth?

DAVIS: Donna is more optimistic than I am. I think that...

HEMMER: You say no?

DAVIS: The difficulties of what she's doing, plus the pressure and attention. She is way out of our comfort zone. Listen, I hope I'm wrong, but I'll be shocked if she makes the cut.

HEMMER: Well, listen, we'll watch the gallery. You know, she tees off last tomorrow, I believe, and the gallery just has to be absolutely enormous following her.

DE VARONA: Right, the pressure is the big deal. She's just got to, like every athlete. Tiger is teaching her to stay focused.

HEMMER: Well, he does it better than anyone, no question. Donna De Varona, thank you. Seth Davis -- thanks, Seth. We'll find out tomorrow.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com