SAMSUNG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
In went Wie, out goes Annika for LPGA event
Michelle Wie accepted her special exemption into next week's Samsung World Championship last March, but it is having some ramifications seven months later.
Wie, who has made only two cuts on the LPGA this year and just began her freshman year at Stanford University, is making her fourth straight appearance in the elite 20-player field. If not for Wie's special exemption, the last spot in the field would have gone to Evian Masters champion Natalie Gulbis.
Facing a similar situation, Annika Sorenstam turned down her invitation yesterday, not wanting to cause hardship with any players who might have felt bumped from the field.
In an effort to upgrade the event, tournament organizers enacted an exemption last week for an active Hall of Fame member. That spot went to Sorenstam, inducted in 2003 and a five-time winner of the Samsung World Championship.
Mark Steinberg, Sorenstam's agent, said the Swede got concerned last week upon hearing that some players were told the top 18 on the LPGA Tour money list would get into the event at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., which starts Thursday.
The field is comprised of the defending champ, four major champs, the Ladies European Tour money list leader, a special exemption (Wie) and the rest from the money list.
Sorenstam "didn't want the perception that she was taking a spot," Steinberg said.