I know I'm not alone in my opinion that there are way too many Martha Burks out there, and not nearly enough Annika Sorenstams. I was knocked out by the way that Annika handled herself before, during and after her appearance in the Colonial last week. The contrast with Burk's posturing at Augusta was striking. Annika was pure class, pure competitor. She asked for no special considerations, and made no excuses. And what a player! Among the players that she outscored over those two rounds were a couple of winners from last year's men's tour. It was also gratifying to see how she was embraced and encouraged by her playing partners and the other pros at the event.
Andrew Sullivan has a take in today's Dish on the secret of Annika's popularity. Read it all, but here's an excerpt:
She's different but equal. Americans are far more comfortable with this kind of social message - and for a good reason. It's about integration, not separatism. It's about personal achievement, not group grievance. It's about merit, not complaint. It's about golf, not politics. Sorenstam cannot be accused of claiming any "special rights." She's embracing the old American virtue of doing your best against the best, and not letting anything - gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation - get in the way. That was once the core, simple, unifying message of the civil rights movement. Odd, isn't it, that it took a Swedish female golfer to remind us.