Tiger Woods, fresh from a four-week break following his US Masters triumph, returns to action in the Byron Nelson Classic this week. While he has been away, however, much of his thunder has been stolen by the feats of Annika Sorenstam.
On Sunday, the 30-year-old Swede beat her compatriot Sophie Gustafson at the second play-off hole to claim her fifth tour win of the season and, yesterday, her mind had switched to the possibility of playing against Woods.
"I'd love to play against Tiger. I like playing the guys, to see how they approach and play the game. I would love to take him on in an exhibition or whatever," said Sorenstam.
Such a match, though, is unlikely to take place. When a similar match against Kerrie Webb, who is number one in the women's world rankings, was proposed earlier this year, Woods was luke-warm on the idea.
Although Webb is the top player in the rankings, Sorenstam's current form suggests she is the hottest property in the women's game. In eight US LPGA Tour starts this season, she has won five times and finished second twice. She heads the money list with $939,688 and her latest win means that she is the first woman player to earn over $7 million.
"I've put in a lot of hard work, so to see the results is nice," remarked Sorenstam, who undertook a new fitness schedule at the end of last season while also putting in extra work on her game.
Her putting, in particular, has helped move her up to another level. "I'm not going to say how many tournaments I'd have to win to meet my goal this year, but I am on the right track," she said.
One of Sorenstam's stated objectives, though, is to emulate Woods by holding all four majors at the one time. "I've certainly thought about the Grand Slam and I definitely think I could win all four in one year," insisted Sorenstam.
Meanwhile, injury-hit Richie Coughlan finally returned to tournament play in the Compaq Classic - won by David Toms, who shot a final round 64 to beat Phil Mickelson by two shots - in New Orleans, but missed the cut by a shot and will be forced to sit out this week's Byron Nelson as he fails to get into the field on his qualifying school ranking.
