Novelty of women in men's events may be wearing off

LOS ANGELES, May 9: Now that Hawaiian schoolgirl Michelle Wie has finally made the cut in a men's event, it remains to be seen whether tournament sponsors continue to cash in on the publicity bandwagon.

There is no doubt that getting Wie to play alongside the men in PGA Tour events like the Sony Open and John Deere Classic has proved to be a major coup.

Both events benefited hugely with record crowds and extensive media coverage.

At last week's SK Telecom Open in South Korea, where 16-year-old Wie qualified for the weekend in a men's tournament for the first time in eight attempts, she was by far the Asian Tour event's biggest drawcard.

Urged on by a gallery of around 1,500 people, she even stopped traffic along a highway close to the course as motorists parked to watch her play.

Before last week, however, the novelty factor of women playing in men's professional tournaments was beginning to wear rather thin.

Annika Sorenstam's heavily publicised failure to make the cut at the 2003 Colonial on the PGA Tour took place almost three years ago.

Since then, Sweden's world number one has been followed in men's events by players such as American Suzy Whaley, Britain's Laura Davies and South Korea's Pak Se-ri.

Like Sorenstam, Whaley and Davies failed in their attempts while Pak tied for 10th at the Korean Tour's SBS Pro-Golf Championship in 2003, a lower tier men's event with a relatively weak field.

NO SECRET

Wie, who has made no secret of her desire to go where no other woman golfer has gone before, had failed in seven bids before last week.

Her first appearance in a men's event came at the 2003 Bay Mills Open Players Championship on the Canadian Tour and her most recent at the Sony Open in her native Hawaii in January.

She has a further two PGA Tour outings to come later this year, at the John Deere Classic in July and the 84 Lumber Classic in September.

While the tournament sponsors are clearly overjoyed to have the teenage prodigy in their fields, it is debatable whether a majority of PGA Tour players and fans feel the same way. ''I understand the buzz they're trying to create with Michelle,'' 2003 US Masters champion Mike Weir said this year. ''If they want to give her a shot, that's their prerogative. Do I think it's right all the time? No, I don't. But at the same time, she hasn't made any cuts.

''I think maybe it's about time for her to really earn a spot. It would be nice if the tour would step in. There are guys who really need to play, really need events to get in.'' Despite her undoubted talent for the game, her booming drives in excess of 300 yards and creative touch around the greens, Wie has not won a title since the 2003 US women's amateur public links championship at the age of 13.

WINNING HABIT

Time and again, she has been criticised for not learning the winning habit by focusing her playing schedule on women's LPGA Tour events.

Wie, however, has her own reasons.

''I think that playing in men's events will help me to win women's events,'' she said. ''In all the practice rounds and tournament rounds that I play with the men, I learn so much. It helps me to become a better player overall.'' As for the future, Wie is determined to keep her sights raised as high as possible.

''My goal is definitely to win on the LPGA Tour, and to win a major,'' said the American teenager, who has produced five top-10 finishes in nine major starts.

''And my goal is definitely to make the cut and to compete out on the PGA Tour.

''I don't think there are actually any real strict guidelines on how to do it. I think that what I'm doing might be right or might be wrong, but it's what I want to do right now.

''It makes me happy, so I intend to keep on doing it.''

REUTERS