LPGA Championsip starts today

Today marks the opening round of the LPGA tour's second major championship of the year, the LPGA Championsip. Annika Sorrenstam in addition to trying to make a Grand Slam run this year, is the two time defending champion.

This will be the first time the tournament is hosted at the Bulle Creek Country Club in Maryland. The previous 20 years saw the tournament played at the Dupont GC in Wilmington Delaware.

I question the move and timing of the tournament. The PGA tour this week is in Bethesda Maryland. Two tournaments within 50 miles of one another. I don't think there will be enough to back both tournaments. In the past when situations like this arose, the LPGA always got the short end of the stick. So why move from Wilmington, particularly after the course underwent changes just for the LPGA? To me this all seems like another bad LPGA decision from an organization known for making poor choices.

Annika is the obvious favorite. It's hard to gague a field when there is no prior track record of who plays well there and who doesn't. Obvious other contenders are Christie Kerr, Rosie Jones, Grace Park and amateur Michelle Wie to name a few. Wie got an exemption into this tournament despite being an amateur. The tournament is the Ladies PROFESSIONAL Golf Association Championship. An amateur in the field seems an obvious contradiction. The reasoning behind Wie playing is her accomplishments already on the tour and her ability to draw crowds. I say more power to her. Michelle is capable of winning this tournament. Her chances are better if Daddy isn't caddying.

I'll be watching this weekend.

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. (June 8) - The LPGA Championship starting on Thursday is the second stop on what Annika Sorenstam hopes will make her the first female golfer to win the professional Grand Slam in a calendar year.

That's all she has talked about for two years. And after winning the first major in March at the Kraft Nabisco Championship - by eight shots, no less - that's all anyone is talking about.

"She said she wanted to do it, and now she's the only one who has a chance," Meg Mallon said. "To call your shot and then do it would be pretty amazing."

Along with winning the first major, Sorenstam has won five of her first seven LPGA tournaments. The exceptions were at Kingsmill, where she was going for a record sixth consecutive victory and tied for 12th; and the Corning Classic, where she had the flu and tied for second.

"Obviously, if she's on the top of her game, she's going to be in contention come Sunday," Cristie Kerr said.

Despite her 61 career victories - 38 in the last five years - and winning the Nabisco in such overwhelming fashion, majors have not always come easily for Sorenstam. Two years ago was the first time she won two majors in a single season, the LPGA and the Women's British Open to complete the career Grand Slam.

Still, the 34-year-old Swede is not shy about her goals.

"I don't walk around every day saying, 'I want to win the Grand Slam,"' she said. "I know it, and I'm going to try to do the best I can and prepare as much as I can. If you look at the last two weeks, I think I'm as ready as I can be. Who knows what will happen this week?"


The hunch is that she will be there late Sunday afternoon, as she usually is.