In. Out. In. Out. Qualifying for the Samsung World Championship was starting to sound like that hamburger joint the California desert is famous for. In fact, maybe next year Samsung should just put the world’s top players in a room and play one high-stakes game of musical chairs. It’s been that absurd.
The latest development in the 20-player field puts the list of invitees back to where it should’ve been in the first place: Sarah Lee is in. Annika Sorenstam is out.
Tournament officials released the final field Oct. 5 and the official word is that “due to contradictory and confusing information being given to players regarding the eligibility for 2007 Samsung World Championship, Annika declined the invitation to the event.”
Well, they got the “contradictory and confusing” part right.
Essentially, once Sorenstam realized that accepting Samsung’s sponsor exemption kicked Lee out of the field, she gave it back. It’s a classy move from the event’s five-time champ, who struggled most of the season with neck and back injuries.
“I was pretty adamant that it wasn’t right,” said Juli Inkster, the event’s second alternate. “I talked to Annika and she totally agreed. You can’t change a criteria two weeks before the deadline.”
For those who haven’t been keeping up with the soap opera surrounding this year’s Samsung, here’s some background information.
The first six spots went to the four major championship winners (Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel and Cristie Kerr), the LET’s money leader, Bettina Hauert, and sponsor invite Michelle Wie. According to a fact sheet sent out to players over a month ago, the remaining 14 positions would be filled off the tour’s money list through the Navistar LPGA Classic.
Midway through last week’s event in Alabama, however, it was announced that Samsung had changed its exemption criteria to include an active member of the LPGA Hall of Fame who had not otherwise qualified. (Otherwise known as the “Annika Sorenstam Rule.”)
In the past, Samsung has extended an invite to the U.S. Women’s Amateur champ, but that hasn’t happened since Grace Park took a spot in 1998. As late as Sept. 14 Samsung posted a release on its web site confirming that the “final 14 berths” would come from the money list.
The tournament chose to invite Sorenstam (31st on the money list), passing up Inkster and Karrie Webb (both HOFers who weren’t in the field) in the process. Unfortunately, that move left Lee on the sidelines.
Lee learned from her agent Sunday night that she wasn’t in the tournament but didn’t realize that Sorenstam was given the spot until several players informed her Wednesday morning at Longs Drugs Challenge.
A disappointed Lee spent all day Monday booking an early flight to Korea along with hotel arrangements. She’s since had to change all those reservations to make her way to Bighorn.
“I was a little late realizing that Annika was playing,” Lee said. “She made the right decision.”
While tournament director Torrey Gane insists the criteria change was not made for Sorenstam, it certainly appeared that way.
The Samsung event is managed by IMG, and Sorenstam is a longtime IMG client. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that both the tournament sponsor and managerment wanted Ms. 59 in the field. If that’s the case, why not just be up front about it and make it a 21-player field?
Players were outraged that officials would change an event’s criteria midway through the last qualifying tournament. While Samsung isn’t necessarily anyone’s top goal for the year, it’s undeniably a prestigious perk. Twenty players playing for $1 million with no cut in the sun-splashed desert -- not a bad week.
It’s odd that Sorenstam was caught off-guard about the implications that were sure to go along with accepting a spot. Perhaps a player of her caliber pays little attention to what goes into qualifying for an event since she’s rarely on the outside looking in. If that’s the case, then someone at IMG should’ve have prepared her for the firestorm that would follow. After all, isn’t IMG running the show?
Inkster said she wasn’t at all surprised she was overlooked as an active Hall of Famer.
“I doubt I’ll ever get invited,” she said with a smile, “I’m not with IMG.”
Getting rid of the U.S. Women’s Amateur exemption that’s rarely used was a good move, just rotten timing. Both Webb and Inkster said they would have rather seen the new exemption involve the Rolex World Rankings rather than the Hall of Fame.
And Inkster spoke for many players when she questioned Samsung’s decision to offer Wie a spot way back in March. Gane said that if “you want Michelle to play in your tournament you need to ask early.”
That might be true, but clearly this is not the same teenaged phenom who made her professional debut at the Samsung two years ago. In a rather ominous first outing in the play-for-pay ranks, Wie was DQ’d for taking an illegal drop in the bushes during the third round. At least back then she could hang with the best players in the world.
Sorenstam isn’t commenting on the Samsung debacle, but she certainly sent a message that it’s OK to turn down a sponsor’s exemption if there are more deserving players. And, at least this year, there are dozens of players on tour who fall into that category where Wie is concerned.
But Samsung wants Wie and that’s a perk that goes along with sponsoring an LPGA event. Tournament officials also wanted Sorenstam in the field so bad they changed the rules at the 11th hour to get her in.
In the end, Sorenstam put the tour first. That’s always nice to see.
Posted: 10/5/2007
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