STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Eighteen holes of match play will teach you more about your foe than nineteen years of dealing with him across the desk. " |
-Grantland Rice |
|
||||
|
The Samsung World Championship will be one of those rare events where the star of the show will have to share the spotlight. Top-ranked Annika Sorenstam, who has won the event five times, including the previous two at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, will defend her title at the October 12-15 tournament that brings together a field of 20 elite players. Michelle Wie has played in the two Samsung events at Bighorn and will be back again. Her long drives and enormous potential have piqued the curiosity of many galleries over the years, and the Samsung will undoubtedly be no exception. Sorenstam is trying to become the first player in LPGA Tour history to win an event six times. She and San Diego native Mickey Wright are the only players to win an event five times. "Obviously, coming to every tournament, I feel like I'm prepared," Sorenstam said last year after winning the event by eight strokes. "But there are always certain tournaments where you feel a little extra heartbeat, where there is a little extra on the line. And this is one of them." The winner of the Samsung World Championship earns a berth in the season-ending ADT Championship, a perk that elevates the event into the upper tier of LPGA tournaments. Joining Sorenstam and Wie among the players in this year's field are major champions Se Ri Pak (LPGA McDonald's Championship), Karrie Webb (Kraft Nabisco Championship) and Sherri Steinhauer (Weetabix Women's British Open) and money leaders Juli Inkster, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis. |
||||