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Re: Just play the game.
At 03:40 PM 5/19/03 -0400, James A. Hill wrote:
>"Just play the game."
That is what some want to do without silly distractions.
Everyone tells me that the point of golf is to pit the individual player
against the course, NOT against each other, so there's no distraction
there. if you refer to what I expect will be extensive media coverage,
then why doesn't anyone complain about the zillion cameras that follow Tiger?
>Does anyone expect her to win against the best the men have to offer?
Probably not. But those who decry her as "not good enough" need to take a
look at the few hundred guys on their list that by the same statistical
measurement, aren't good enough either.
Me thinks you are trying to compare apples and oranges. The comparison of
stat's is meaningless. The two leagues play different games at different
courses which emphasis different skills. Look at tennis. It is a different
game.
The idea, as far as I can tell, is to use the golf stick to put the ball in
the hole in the fewest tries. That seems to be the same for men and
women. She is coming to a course played by men, and playing under men's
rules. Can't get more comparative than that. In fact, I read a quote from
Tiger Woods that he thinks she should play SEVERAL games, to get a better
overall gage of how her game fares--to offset an overly good--or
bad--single game.
All that said, this is a "sponsors exemption" and can be given to anyone.
It is specifically for generating press for the tournament. Annika is
certainly doing that. Her sponsors are selling "Annika kits" with two Ping
golf ball's and other knick knacks so Ping will get their bang-for-buck by
using their exemption this way. This is more about commercial succe$$ then
"give-the-young-lady-a-chance". Don't kid yourself.
She's a professional athlete and playing in a professional venue under
close scrutiny. If I had all those people paying attention and making
cracks while *I* was holding a golf stick, someone would get hurt.
>So what's the big deal in letting women play? The answer, supposedly is
that the men are "out there earning a living", according to Mr. Singh.
Well some players take their job seriously and don't want the "Charles
Barkley's" and "local yokel" exemptions disrupting their focus as they try
to make a "living". To suggest that the media frenzy won't interfere would
be ignoring what they already created.
If the media are becoming a problem, move them back, or throw them out.
I see golf as entertainment and if having a few women who can play like
Annika get in with the sponsors exemption and more young ladies end up
watching the match with their Dad's or husband and wife's watching together
etc ..., so be it. But it isn't my paycheck that is at risk.
Golf is a sport. I only watch because the parks are beautiful and they
show shots of the Snoopy One Met Life blimp. But people play in an
organized way and get paid. How entertaining it is depends on who you
are. But she's playing--literally--by the rules and you can't ask for
anything more fair than that.
Most amateur men will also find that their game is closer to the women's
game then the men's pros anyway. Much like pro tennis.
I have no clue, having played neither sport successfully.