Controversy Envelops Samsung

[Bag Chatter]

By K Vakamudi

Annika declines, Michelle is back, and controversy again ensues between the two at this week’s Samsung World Championship.

The Samsung World Championship was meant to bring the 20 best women golfers in the world together, but heads began to turn when the field was formally announced earlier this week. Michellie Wie who has only broken par once this entire season while fighting injuries was granted a sponsor’s exemption despite her lackluster performance in 2007. This has left Natalie Gulbis on the outside looking in although she rightfully qualified. Another notable "qualifier" was Annika Sorenstam who has missed much of the ‘07 season with an injured neck but was invited into the tournament. Yet, Annika has declined so another player who deserved the spot can compete.

Much of the controversy stems more from the shifting rules the tournament officials at Samsung amend every year to include the most popular women golfers in the world rather than identify them. Sorenstam’s invitation was extended due to a change which extendeds an automatic invitation to any active member of the LPGA Hall of Fame. The rule was previously worded to provide an exemption to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion. Annika’s move garnered tremendous respect from her peers. Lorena Ocha said, "What Annika decided to do, that’s something that I admire very much, I respect. She thought they were wrong to do it," Ochoa said. "That just shows how much class she has and how professional she is." Annika’s actions are even more admirable considering the fact that her management team at IMG runs the Samsung tournament.

Annika’s shining example also stands in stark contrast to Michelle Wie who is yet again in the field of an exclusive tournament despite her peers outperforming her throughout the season. Wie has slipped to 56th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Even with a last place finish in this tournament, Wie will more than double her meager season winnings of $9,000. Her 2007 season has included a suspcious withdrawl due to injury to seemingly prevent carding an 88 that would have disqualified her for the year. More controversey ensued after Wie’s withdrawl from Annika’s tournament due to injury only to be seen a day later practicing at the next tournament site. Wie has slowly begun losing the respect of her peers and the public. Once again her decision to continue with her sponsor’s exemption hasn’t endeared her to her peers.

Yet Samsung is far from the only sponsor to bend over backwards to accommodate Wie. The McDonald’s LPGA Championship spent 51 years without allowing an amateur into the field until 2005 when it allowed Michellie Wie an exemption inot the tournament. Fast forward a year later, the rules to the McDonald’s LPGA are again changed to provide an exemption to any professional that finished in the top five in any major - any guesses as to who got into the field with that? Even the staunch USGA wilted like a dead flower, allowing Wie exemptions into the U.S. Open rather than forcing her to qualify like all other competitiors. The examples are numerous and her performances are lackluster to say the least. What started out as an incredibly talented teenager attracting huge numbers of fans has quickly regressed to people gathering around to wait for the next train wreck.

So it’s time to play the blame game - who deserves the lion’s share? As easy (and entertaining) as it would be to place the blame solely on Wie, the Samsung officials should be stepping up to the firing line for their nonsense entry rules and unfair application. While the Samsung officials extended an "invitation" to active LPGA Hall of Famers, neither Julie Inkster nor Karrie Webb (both active LPGA Hall of Famers) were ever offered entry into the tournament. One can only imagine what permutation the rules will take on before next year’s event. Although no one could expect Samsung to retract the Wie's invitation. One can only hope that no matter what the outcome of this week, they would be far more thoughtful in awarding their exemptions in the future. Yet why stop there? Why not simply increase the size of the field by five players allowing Wie, Sorenstam, Webb, Inkseter and Gulbis all into the field. That would barely dent the winnings per player and allow for a more competitive and exciting field for the players and fans. Samsung has already rewritten the rules each year to tailor the field, why not simply expand the field and stick to them?

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