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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Marguerite Sallee, Brian Katrek

Aired May 17, 2003 - 09:19   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.


ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Less than a week from now, Swedish professional golfer Annika Sorenstam will play in a men's golf tournament, becoming the first woman to do so in 58 years. Well, Sorenstam has said it is less about breaking barriers, and more about testing herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, GOLFER: I don't really know what to expect when I get to Colonial. I know it's going to be probably like all four majors put together in one week, so it's going to be tough. But it's part of the whole thing, and that's why I'm doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MEADE: Well, some of the men on the tour have expressed their concern about her playing in the PGA, and knowing she's the best in women's golf doesn't make them any more able to cope with losing to a woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIJAY SINGH, 2000 MASTERS CHAMPION: If I miss the cut, I'd rather see her miss the cut as well. You know, hope she miss the cut, because I don't want to go back and know that a woman beat me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MEADE: Well, Vijay Singh said earlier that he did not believe that Sorenstam belonged in this event because she is a woman. But is it really such a big deal, having Sorenstam play a men's tour event?

We are joined this morning by Marguerite Sallee of the LPGA.

Good morning, Marguerite.

MARGUERITE SALLEE, LPGA: Good morning, Robin.

MEADE: And Brian Katrek is with us, who hosts a weekly golf show on pgatour.com.

Welcome to you both. We do appreciate.

OK, so Vijay Singh said that he hoped that she missed the cut earlier, because she didn't belong in the men's tour. Marguerite, should she be allowed to play, and why? SALLEE: Well, absolutely. And the last I checked, this is America, not Afghanistan. And I think Vijay is about the last person I would have expected to be talking about someone's rightful place.

MEADE: Brian, are we talking about, perhaps, here, breaking barriers? You think of Billie Jean King in the sport of tennis. She was established the first successful women's professional tennis tour. Could this be just an issue of a new day in golf?

BRIAN KATREK, PGATOUR.COM: I don't think we are breaking barriers yet, Robin. We're getting there. Babe Diedrickson (ph) Zaharias played in the Open -- on the PGA Tour back in 1945. We've seen this sort of thing done in exhibition form before, and Annika is not talking about playing on the PGA Tour full time.

I think the problem that some of the guys may have had in the locker room, and that Vijay voiced, was that she was given the spot, and she didn't earn it. We've got a 13-year-old from Hawaii named Michelle Wee (ph) who has tried to earn her spot out there.

And I think if Annika earns her spot out there, everybody would welcome her with open arms.

MEADE: So if one of the issues is that she is taking away a spot because of what's called a sponsor's exemption, I've also heard the argument that that is not the case, because someone else would have taken that sponsor's exemption spot. Marguerite, what do you know?

SALLEE: Well, it is a sponsor's exemption, and as far as I know, at least 10 of those spots can go to anyone. And I think Annika has brought more value to the Colonial than whoever that other PGA player might have been. So I think it's been good for Annika, good for the LPGA, and great for the Colonial.

MEADE: Well, Marguerite, there is, obviously, a women's golf tour. So now on the flip side, should a man be allowed to play in the LPGA?

SALLEE: The LPGA has a rule about being female. And if we should change those rules, then I suppose we could consider that. But right now, there is not a similar rule with the PGA, as far as I know.

MEADE: You know, Brian, how many other guys do you think feel the way that Vijay Singh expressed himself, but really aren't saying anything because they would like to be PC?

KATREK: Well, and I think that is a pretty good majority -- well, not a majority, but there's a large number of them. And Vijay, interestingly enough, wasn't speaking for himself. When he's talked about being paired with Annika, and I'd be -- I would withdraw, he knew he wasn't going to get paired with Annika in the first couple rounds, because (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there was no chance, that's not how they do it. They have three different classifications, and he knew they weren't going to get paired together.

But he was speaking up for the little guys. And there's going to be -- you know, some guys are going to get embarrassed if she finishes in front of them. Everybody knows she's the greatest woman golfer in the world. But this is their tour. She was given this spot and given the chance to play. Everybody would welcome that. We want to see her play well. But whoever finishes behind her is going to get a little razzing from time to time.

MEADE: You know, on the flip side, if she wanted to test her game by playing in the men's event, then, what does that say about the caliber of the LPGA? Is there any talk about that behind the scenes, Marguerite?

SALLEE: Well, I do believe that this has been great for women's golf, and I also understand that Annika is extraordinarily talented and challenges herself in every way she possibly can, so I think it's been inspiring for other women and for young women. And its empowering. So I think it's a good thing, and I hope more women will test their own limits, and we will see where it goes.

KATREK: You know, as silly as this sounds, you know, Marguerite's right about that, and Tiger was right with his statement. Annika may need actually more tournaments if she actually wants to show what she can do. Even PGA Tour's Q School (ph) is six rounds, and she's only going to get two rounds. But, you know, unfortunately, if the weather turns on her, this could do some damage if she doesn't play well.

MEADE: Brian and Marguerite, thank you for that very civil debate this early on a Saturday morning, do appreciate it. Thanks so much.

KATREK: You're welcome.

SALLEE: Thank you.

MEADE: Well, of course, there will be a lot of attention on that when it's played next weekend.

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 17, 2003 - 09:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Less than a week from now, Swedish professional golfer Annika Sorenstam will play in a men's golf tournament, becoming the first woman to do so in 58 years. Well, Sorenstam has said it is less about breaking barriers, and more about testing herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, GOLFER: I don't really know what to expect when I get to Colonial. I know it's going to be probably like all four majors put together in one week, so it's going to be tough. But it's part of the whole thing, and that's why I'm doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MEADE: Well, some of the men on the tour have expressed their concern about her playing in the PGA, and knowing she's the best in women's golf doesn't make them any more able to cope with losing to a woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIJAY SINGH, 2000 MASTERS CHAMPION: If I miss the cut, I'd rather see her miss the cut as well. You know, hope she miss the cut, because I don't want to go back and know that a woman beat me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MEADE: Well, Vijay Singh said earlier that he did not believe that Sorenstam belonged in this event because she is a woman. But is it really such a big deal, having Sorenstam play a men's tour event?

We are joined this morning by Marguerite Sallee of the LPGA.

Good morning, Marguerite.

MARGUERITE SALLEE, LPGA: Good morning, Robin.

MEADE: And Brian Katrek is with us, who hosts a weekly golf show on pgatour.com.

Welcome to you both. We do appreciate.

OK, so Vijay Singh said that he hoped that she missed the cut earlier, because she didn't belong in the men's tour. Marguerite, should she be allowed to play, and why? SALLEE: Well, absolutely. And the last I checked, this is America, not Afghanistan. And I think Vijay is about the last person I would have expected to be talking about someone's rightful place.

MEADE: Brian, are we talking about, perhaps, here, breaking barriers? You think of Billie Jean King in the sport of tennis. She was established the first successful women's professional tennis tour. Could this be just an issue of a new day in golf?

BRIAN KATREK, PGATOUR.COM: I don't think we are breaking barriers yet, Robin. We're getting there. Babe Diedrickson (ph) Zaharias played in the Open -- on the PGA Tour back in 1945. We've seen this sort of thing done in exhibition form before, and Annika is not talking about playing on the PGA Tour full time.

I think the problem that some of the guys may have had in the locker room, and that Vijay voiced, was that she was given the spot, and she didn't earn it. We've got a 13-year-old from Hawaii named Michelle Wee (ph) who has tried to earn her spot out there.

And I think if Annika earns her spot out there, everybody would welcome her with open arms.

MEADE: So if one of the issues is that she is taking away a spot because of what's called a sponsor's exemption, I've also heard the argument that that is not the case, because someone else would have taken that sponsor's exemption spot. Marguerite, what do you know?

SALLEE: Well, it is a sponsor's exemption, and as far as I know, at least 10 of those spots can go to anyone. And I think Annika has brought more value to the Colonial than whoever that other PGA player might have been. So I think it's been good for Annika, good for the LPGA, and great for the Colonial.

MEADE: Well, Marguerite, there is, obviously, a women's golf tour. So now on the flip side, should a man be allowed to play in the LPGA?

SALLEE: The LPGA has a rule about being female. And if we should change those rules, then I suppose we could consider that. But right now, there is not a similar rule with the PGA, as far as I know.

MEADE: You know, Brian, how many other guys do you think feel the way that Vijay Singh expressed himself, but really aren't saying anything because they would like to be PC?

KATREK: Well, and I think that is a pretty good majority -- well, not a majority, but there's a large number of them. And Vijay, interestingly enough, wasn't speaking for himself. When he's talked about being paired with Annika, and I'd be -- I would withdraw, he knew he wasn't going to get paired with Annika in the first couple rounds, because (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there was no chance, that's not how they do it. They have three different classifications, and he knew they weren't going to get paired together.

But he was speaking up for the little guys. And there's going to be -- you know, some guys are going to get embarrassed if she finishes in front of them. Everybody knows she's the greatest woman golfer in the world. But this is their tour. She was given this spot and given the chance to play. Everybody would welcome that. We want to see her play well. But whoever finishes behind her is going to get a little razzing from time to time.

MEADE: You know, on the flip side, if she wanted to test her game by playing in the men's event, then, what does that say about the caliber of the LPGA? Is there any talk about that behind the scenes, Marguerite?

SALLEE: Well, I do believe that this has been great for women's golf, and I also understand that Annika is extraordinarily talented and challenges herself in every way she possibly can, so I think it's been inspiring for other women and for young women. And its empowering. So I think it's a good thing, and I hope more women will test their own limits, and we will see where it goes.

KATREK: You know, as silly as this sounds, you know, Marguerite's right about that, and Tiger was right with his statement. Annika may need actually more tournaments if she actually wants to show what she can do. Even PGA Tour's Q School (ph) is six rounds, and she's only going to get two rounds. But, you know, unfortunately, if the weather turns on her, this could do some damage if she doesn't play well.

MEADE: Brian and Marguerite, thank you for that very civil debate this early on a Saturday morning, do appreciate it. Thanks so much.

KATREK: You're welcome.

SALLEE: Thank you.

MEADE: Well, of course, there will be a lot of attention on that when it's played next weekend.

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