Samsung Pulls Switcheroo to Get Sorenstam Into the Field

by Mulligan Stu on Sep 29, 2007 9:10 PM EDT

(Update: Sorenstam has turned down the exemption.)

Earlier this month I wrote about the poor optics of a Samsung World Championship that has Michelle Wie in the limited-to-20 field and Annika Sorenstam out.

Samsung must have recognized the poor optics, too, because the tournament organizers have done something about it. They've gotten Sorenstam into the field, according to an Associated Press report.

Don't get too excited, Wie haters. They didn't do it by kicking out Wie, to whom the tournament awarded its sponsor exemption back in May.

No, instead they decided to dump an old, rarely used optional exemption and replace it with a new one. So the Samsung World Championship now has the option to grant an exemption to an active member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. And this year, that means Sorenstam.

The field is still just 20 players, so that means one fewer golfer gets in via the LPGA money list this year.

The players in the field now are Lorena Ochoa, Morgan Pressel, Suzann Pettersen and Cristie Kerr (major winners); Bettina Hauert (LET representative); Michelle Wie (sponsor exemption); and Annika Sorenstam (HOF exemption). The remainder of the field will be finalized following this week's Navistar Classic.

According to the AP report, the Samsung has always had on the books the option to grant an exemption to the U.S. Women's Amateur champion, but has not done so since Grace Park got it in 1999. So the tournament organizers replaced that option with the new Hall-of-Fame option.

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what if Pak had missed it?

The glaring problem with this switcheroo is that it opens up a whole new can of worms for the organizers down the road. By my count, Se Ri Pak is in, but barely. If she had been knocked out this week, that would have made 3 active Hall of Famers out and Sorenstam in. I know she's won this thing a million times, and this year is a special case, but given how unlikely it is that all 4 active Hall of Famers will continue to qualify by other means each year down the road, and how likely it is that more than 1 of them will miss it in a given year, just how are they going to break the news to the other(s) that they chose the one they did?

by The Constructivist on Sep 30, 2007 11:06 PM EDT reply actions

No problem

Oh, that's no problem. They'll break the news the same way the break the news to all the golfers who didn't get the sponsor exemption when Michelle Wie did. They'll just pick the player who'll generate the most interest and make the announcement. That means Michelle for the sponsor exemption (well, for the time being anyway!) and Annika for the HOF exemption.

by bogeymcduff on Oct 1, 2007 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

"most" qualified ?

If the exemption is for active HoF members, Karrie Webb should be first in. She is 22nd on the money list. Sorenstam is 30th.

What gets me is that Wie was given the exemption in the middle of her amazing over par streak AND after she was "accepted" into Stanford. (can you say legacy ?) Samsung wants the media circus, which is dying down, that surrounds Wie.

LPGA events do not sell out, so a few extra tickets won't make a lot of difference, and she is not likely to be a big part of any camera time since she won't be around the top of this very short field.

Wie is once again the fulcrum of all kinds of problems, and her "dream" of graduating from Stanford doesn't seem to be a big priority a whole month into her freshman...ummm...semester. (my guess - she flunks out of Stanford and is forced to get back to her golf game)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Oct 1, 2007 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

uh, it's Inkster

Inkster is 20, Webb is 21, Sorenstam is 31

http://www.lpga.com/player_stats.aspx?y=2007&o=1&mid=4&pid=10

get with the program, you Wie-hater, you! ;)

by The Constructivist on Oct 1, 2007 12:01 PM EDT reply actions

ok - who changed the money list !

I looked at the money list this morning around 5:30 and they had Webb at 22 and Sorenstam at 30. Did they borrow a few bucks ? Maybe she got her winnings translated to Aussie dollars...ok - so I'm reaching...

Either way - Wie shouldn't be there in a 20 player field - she should be working on her freshman English and math ! Can't be mad at her for saying yes to an easy paycheck - Samsung made the offer. I'm not a Wie HATER - just one of the throng who have grown tired of her and the hype that goes with the Wonderful World of Wie traveling circus.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Oct 1, 2007 1:31 PM EDT reply actions