Kenny Perry and Dan Forsman shared the second-round lead at the Colonial tournament in Fort Worth but Annika Sorenstam, the first female player to compete on the PGA Tour for 58 years, missed the halfway cut. Sweden's Sorenstam walked off the 18th green in tears after returning a 74 to finish five-over-par on 145, four shots shy of the cut line. "It's been a lot of pressure, a lot of emotion," Sorenstam told reporters. "I want to come back tomorrow though. But I gave it all. I tried. I gave everything I had."
Perry (64) and Forsman (66) were eight-under on 132, one stroke ahead of Jim Furyk (65) at the Colonial Country Club. Sweden's Jesper Parnevik (68), South Africa's Rory Sabbatini (70), Tim Petrovic (66), Jay Williamson (67), Frank Lickliter II (66) and Chad Campbell (67) were all on 134.
32-year-old Sorenstam had defied the odds on Thursday, her precision round yielding a one-over 71 that had her in with a chance of playing on Saturday and Sunday. She started the second round knowing she needed to play as well or better, but she couldn't do it. "I wasn't as nervous on the first tee," she said. "But I didn't feel as comfortable over the ball as I did yesterday. I didn't ever find the rhythm I had yesterday."
Compared to Thursday, when the only weakness Sorenstam displayed was in her putting, Friday's round was more erratic. "I kind of scrambled," said Sorenstam, whose 43 LPGA tour titles include four majors. "It was mostly my approach shots on the front nine, then on the back I hit it better but lost my feel on the greens." Even so, she sank a 14-footer to save par at the last, where she had hit her second shot into the trees. As she walked up the final fairway with her week over, Sorenstam received a champion's ovation. In return she applauded the crowd before parring the hole and tossing the ball into the grandstand with a smile that soon turned to tears.
Perry said he was impressed by how Sorenstam had handled herself in the first round, recalling that his game hadn't held up when he had been exposed the the frenzy that surrounds Tiger Woods. "It was just really intense out there," Perry said of two tournament rounds he played with Woods. "And I performed very poorly. And she shoots 71. My hat's off to her." Forsman, who was still on the course as Sorenstam's round unfolded, said he was sorry to see her tournament coming to an end in such a way. "It's kind of a sad ending, I suppose," Forsman said. "The way she's handled herself and the style and the grace that she has along with her talent ... It's sad to say what could have been."
Parnevik, who shot a 68 for 134 and a share of fourth place after two rounds said he was proud of his countrywoman. "It's a very historic week," he said. "I guess we have the Shark, the Tiger and now we have the Superwoman."
Sorenstam clearly wasn't feeling like Superwoman last night, saying she felt she was "in over my head." "First of all, the attention is much more than I expected," she said. "Being under the microscope, and then when I didn't really perform as well as I think I can ... I'm emotionally drained right now because I've given it all I had."
Interest in how Sorenstam would fare here, along with debate over whether she should even be allowed to play, had been brewing in the golf world since she accepted the invitation from Colonial in February. Portrayal of what Sorenstam herself calls a purely personal challenge as a skirmish in the battle of the sexes captured the imagination of the general public, and Sorenstam's performance on Thursday was front-page news across the United States. Even President George W. Bush weighed in Friday morning, saying he was rooting for Sorenstam to make the cut.
"This is something I will never forget," Sorenstam said, though she made it clear it was something she would never repeat. "I loved the golf course. It's a true test, and I really tested myself from start to finish. So I have a lot to be proud of, and I've got a lot of exprience, so I'm very thankful."
Filed by James Boylan
