Michelle Wie confirmed yesterday that she intends to take advantage of the R&A's decision this week to allow a small number of women to enter the British Open Championship and attempt to qualify for next year's event at Royal Liverpool. The surprise is that the teenager may have a female playing partner when she makes her audacious tilt at golfing history.
Jeong Jang may not command multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals that the newly professional 16-year-old does but the Korean has done something that has so far eluded the world's most marketable female golfer, which is to win a tournament, and a top-class one at that - the 2005 British Women's Open at Birkdale. Under the new rules on Open Championship entry that achievement allows Jang to enter the regional qualifying stages for the most prestigious event in men's golf.
"I will certainly think about it," she said yesterday. "It would certainly be fun to try."
If that sounded equivocal, then it was probably with good reason. By assigning the best female players in the world to the regional qualifying, the R&A is saying that, despite their status in the women's game, they are no better than the male club professionals and the hopeful, and occasionally hapless, amateurs who make up the field at that level.
It will also require Jang to make two separate trips across the Atlantic, should she advance to local final qualifying, at a time when the LPGA Tour is staging some of its most lucrative events of the season. It was little wonder, therefore, that she was one of the few of the leading players taking part in the Samsung World Championship here whose interest was piqued by the news from St Andrews.
"Until I can win every week out here on the LPGA, then what is the point," said Catriona Matthew, the only British player in the Samsung field.
Annika Sorenstam, who shot an eight-under-par 64 to lead the tournament after the first round, sounded equally sceptical. "If it was on a course I really wanted to play, then who knows? But I think it's great they are opening it up to women, although I don't think I'll be that interested."
The Swede, of course, is in large part responsible for the historic changes to the British Open's entry rules, having started the modern trend for female players to compete in men's events when she took part in the PGA Tour's Colonial event in Texas over two years ago.
Wie is making her professional debut here, shooting a two-under 70 in the first round. That left her six shots behind Sorenstam and with little chance of winning come Sunday afternoon. But Wie's marketing value - Sony and Nike are reported to be paying her $10 million a year - is based on more than tournament results.
It is also founded on her determination to play in men's events, particularly the major championships. She has long stated her desire to compete at the Masters and in the Open Championship, so it was no surprise when she embraced the R&A's announcement more enthusiastically than anyone else in the Palm Springs field.
"Yes, I will definitely try and qualify next year if it fits into my schedule. It would be a great experience" said Wie, whose third-place finish at Birkdale this summer earned her a place in the regional qualifying phase. "I know the route is tough but it would be worth it. I don't care how I get there, as long as I qualify."
Guardian Service
