Women's golf owes Sorenstam more than a gold watch
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 | 04:46 PM ET
Annika Sorenstam is retiring and the world of women’s golf owes her more than a gold watch.
Sorenstam is often compared to Tiger Woods and there are many parallels. Both dominated their tours, winning tournaments at will. Often it seemed they were in a league of their own.
Both put a premium on physical fitness, transforming the sport. No longer was it good enough to hit balls on the driving range. Now, most golfers also hit the weights in the gym. One look at Sorenstam’s biceps and you know that she’s serious about working out.
And just like Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam has proven that golf can be marketable, even dare I say, women’s golf.
On the outside
The sport of women’s golf had languished on the periphery of the North American pro sports circle, rarely able to grab the headlines away from football, baseball or hockey. With Sorenstam, that changed. She was front-page news.
In the past, women’s golf had been marginalized, partly based on sexist attitudes that it wasn’t good enough compared to men’s golf, and partly based on anti-homosexual bias based on the stereotype that female golfers, or all strong female athletes for that matter, are lesbians.
Annika Sorenstam crushed those misconceptions and forced potential fans to face their biases. With Sorenstam, it’s all about the golf. She is a serious athlete. She is serious about golf as a profession. She was the image the LPGA was looking for.
Smooth swing
Early on in her career, sponsors came calling and Callaway was chief among them, banking on a female golfer to sell its products. It worked. Men and women alike were keen to imitate the smooth Sorenstam swing.
Forget Michael Jordan, I wanna to be like Annika.
Thanks largely to Sorenstam, prize money on the LPGA tour has increased dramatically. In the last eight years, the number of players making at least half a million dollars a year has almost doubled from 15 to 29. Last year, the top player was Lorena Ochoa, with an incredible $4.3-million.
Don’t get me wrong there are still problems with the LPGA. Not enough tournaments are on television and without TV exposure, any sport is in trouble. There are still barriers to break down. Try watching any sports highlights show and see how long you have to wait to see the women’s golf results. Even the Golf Channel gives the LPGA short shrift.
But in the same way Nancy Lopez first put women’s golf on the map, Annika Sorenstam took the game to its current level. The LPGA is a strong, thriving sports business and every player on tour today owes Sorenstam a huge debt of gratitude.
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About the Author
Robin Brown is an award-winning journalist and host of The Inside Track on CBC Radio One. During her 17 years in sports journalism, she has interviewed some of the biggest names in Canadian sport, from Wayne Gretzky and Ben Johnson, to Cindy Klassen and Perdita Felicien, and has reported from the past six Olympic Games.
Robin's debut as a sports reporter for CBC Radio took place in 1990 in Winnipeg, where she immediately became headline news when the Blue Bombers barred her from the dressing room because of her gender.
Brown has won awards from the New York Festivals and Radio-Television News Directors Association, to name a few, and has appeared as guest host of such CBC Radio programs as The World at Six and As It Happens.
Listeners can catch Robin on The Inside Track Sundays at 1:30 p.m. (2:00 NT, 4:30 PT) on CBC Radio One and on Saturday on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 137 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Inside Track is now available as a podcast. To download or subscribe to the podcast, please visit: http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/.
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Comments
John B
alberta
Ms. Sorenstam accomplished a great deal in the game of golf, and sadly has not received the kind of accolades that would have been accorded to a male player as dominant as she.
Always gracious and poised, in both victory and defeat, her presence on tour will be missed greatly.
Posted May 15, 2008 02:08 PM
Hali' Gal
NS
Thanks for this Robin. I think it took for Annika to retire for people to remember how much she did for women's golf and golf in general. Lorena Ochoa has dominated the sport over the past two years, but the Sweet Swede's swing was the best in the game. Too bad we won't get to see it after this year.
On another note, go Lori and Alena!
Posted May 15, 2008 12:20 PM
getgoa
internet
She is 37 or so and is not as surprising? as the tennis player retiring at 25. No other golf to be had here on another tour? I think it is still early and If you have God given professional talent you really don't have a say when it is up.
Posted May 15, 2008 10:39 AM