Annika Sorenstam could finally be on her way to South Africa. That’s the word from the organisers of the Women’s World Cup of Golf, which in January will play itself out on the fairways of the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, again bringing a collection of the world’s top women’s golfers together on one stage.
”She is the big one and we’ve been told that there is a very good chance she will play,” says Lesley Copeman, the operations director for the event and herself an accomplished professional and coach.
Sorenstam’s presence will be another massive boost for this elite 20-team event, which made its debut at Fancourt in February this year.
It marked the first time that the stars of both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET) were brought together on one neutral stage, competing over three days of betterball, foursomes and stroke play.
And some of you may still be asking, ”So what?” After all, isn’t women’s golf like beach volleyball — nice to look at, but can we take it seriously?
About 450-million viewers think so — the official number that watched the February showpiece.
And Japan’s victory in that event provides its own emphatic answer.
Within seconds of the triumph by Ai Miyazato and Rui Kitada, the event’s website crashed with the amount of traffic from Asia.
At the age of 20 and all of 152cm tall, Miyazato is a legend in her country. Her face adorns billboards for all manner of products and she requires bodyguards when she goes out. Her manager, Yuji Otsuka, boasts that Miyazato is ”bigger than David Beckham” in Japan.
In November 2004, when Tiger Woods won the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, Miyazato was busy winning the Japan LPGA. The tournaments went head-to-head on TV and her ratings dwarfed those of Woods.
When Miyazato and Kitada returned to Japan with their World Cup trophy, they were awarded one of the highest honours any Japanese sportsperson has ever received.
”We all saw her for the first time at Fancourt and she is an amazing talent. I’m really looking forward to getting another look at her. Her game will be well suited to the Gary Player Country Club course, where accuracy off the tee is essential,” says Copeman.
American Paula Creamer is also expected to be at Sun City. Creamer is still in her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, but has already tasted victory and recorded eight top-10 finishes, and is currently ranked second on the money list behind Sorenstam.
In 2004, she became the youngest ever and first amateur to win the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, after which she turned professional.
”At the age of 19, she’s definitely the new kid on the block,” says Copeman. ”I saw a lot of her during the Women’s US Open and she looks very exciting. She’s definitely a character and one to watch.”
Colombian Marisa Baena could ensure that a South American country qualifies for the World Cup for the first time in 2006.
Baena, who finished second in the 1996 US Women’s Amateur Championship and claimed her first LPGA Tour victory this year, is ranked 11th on the LPGA Tour money list and is coached by South Africa’s Robert Baker.
And there’s Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, who is ranked fourth on the LPGA Tour’s money list with three wins behind her name and who at the age of 23 became the fastest player to earn more than $2-million last year.
”She’s had another tremendous year. But more than this, she is so approachable and has that common touch. She’s always a great asset in the field.”
Provided of course that they all qualify before the cut-off date of October 15, and that they agree to represent their countries.
Apart from defending champions, Japan, and host country, South Africa, each two-player team must qualify for the event, of which an equal number of teams qualify from the LPGA Tour and the LET.