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Retief Goosen, I hardly knew ye
Thursday April 21, 2005 | 14:04:25 288 words, 2380 views
Retief Goosen has officially broken my heart. MSNBC reports that he has joined the ranks of Vijay Singh and Greg Norman in decrying sponsor exemptions from PGA Tour events for women. He’s quoted as saying, “If they qualify for the tournament, they go through qualifying school…then it’s fine. But just to keep giving invites away is probably not the right thing.” Hold on a second. Retief, are you saying that sponsors shouldn’t give away ANY exemptions? No one had any problem with sponsor exemptions before they started handing them out to women. Unless Retief, Vijay, and Greg (jeez, I really hate putting those three in the same sentence) want to start coming out against sponsor exemptions in general, they shouldn’t care who they go to, whether it’s a man or a woman. What exactly is a sponsor exemption? It’s an opportunity to market and publicize the event, is it not? Retief and his ilk may not believe this, but putting Annika or Michelle in a men’s tournament generates a tremendous amount of public interest that might not have been there otherwise. Increased public interest = more ticket sales = larger purses and bigger fan base. How can this be bad? I already have my Tivo set to catch the John Deere Classic coming up in July. Think I would’ve done that if Michelle Wie weren’t playing in it? Not a chance. I really like Goosen, maybe just because he’s so puppy-dog cute, I don’t know. One look at those baby blues and I’m ready to stand in line for autographs with the 12-year-olds. But now, I just have to say, you broke my heart, Retief. You broke my heart! 
Comments:
Comment from: Anne [Visitor]
The men's poor sportsmanship grumbles reflected an ever fragile male ego. So much for Goosen, Singh, and Norman as "role" models for young golfers since each of these guys' age could easily be close to BJ (Michelle's dad) Wie's age or older. They should strive to follow Ernie Els's gracious treatment of young Ms. Wie. Imagine if the exemption had been extended to one of their daughters, they'd be extolling the virtue of encouraging young people to play golf.
In the spirit of fairness, last year there were quite a few US women golfers also who also complained bitterly about Michelle Wie's exemption in the LPGA events. Apparently poor sportsmanship is shared by both genders and older professional golfers. Thanks for your blog. 
04/26/05 @ 00:55
Comment from: Shanks [Visitor]
Golfers who otherwise would not qualify for an event NEED the occasional exemption to make a living. If I had ever been in their shoes, I think I would understand the resentment .... and that doesn't have anything to do with sportsmanship. Sometimes saying & doing what is right is not very popular.
04/27/05 @ 07:40
Comment from: Anne [Visitor]
I do not think for a second that Goosen, Singh, and Norman would ever need an occasional exemption to earn a living. They're millionnaires from golf and endorsements and they're bitter about a young amateur teen-ager girl? Besides, Michelle Wie's exemption isn't taking anything away from any male player no matter how down-trodden, he is not a girl.
After all, it's the sponsors' privileges to offer exemptions because they want the publicity and buzz.
04/27/05 @ 22:43
Comment from: Shanks [Visitor]
Believe it or not, early in their careers, all of these famous guys you have mentioned were looking for any way to get into tournaments. They weren't always successful as they are now. And they each know a bunch of contemporaries that are now in the same boat - guys who are in slump, up and coming, whatever, but just need a break. They would kill for an exemption. And when they see it go to someone just for a publicity stunt, well, they feel it's just not right.
04/28/05 @ 16:11
Comment from: steve [Visitor]
As someone who played in the junior world golf champs and saw my but being kicked by some of those girls on the driving range, I can tell you that its a pride thing for us guys.
05/28/05 @ 05:28
Comment from: connie peebles [Visitor]
As I understand the situation...they do not want the LADIES to have an EXEMPTION to the MENS pga events....but have no problem with them coming out and trying to qualify. But the gals have their tour and it would be unexceptable for a pga male golfer to take a spot on their tour. This is not just earning a living...this is a spectator sport and we choose to watch the regular pga tour, the senior tour or the Lpga tour...not the unisex tour. All golfers of any sex should oppose EXEMPTIONS of crossing over into each others tours. If we have an exceptionally strong woman golfer that could hit from the champion tees then let her do it on the LPGA tour and excel there. I am a lady and viva the difference.
06/04/05 @ 09:56 Leave a comment: |
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