Who Wasn’t Asked About Annika Today?
by Stephanie Morgan, Columbus Wired Columnist (May 30, 2003)

Well, maybe the more accurate question is who was asked AND refused to answer questions about Annika Sorenstam? Of the three players below that were asked about Annika today, decide who didn’t want to answer any questions:

Vijay Singh
Kenny Perry
Lee Janzen

Okay, that’s three guesses and your first two don’t count. Annika’s currently leading the Kellogg-Keebler Classic, which doesn’t happen to take place in Dublin, Ohio. And yet, three players were all asked about her presence in the Colonial last week.

Do you remember the original quote?

"This is a man's tour... There are guys out there trying to make a living. It's not a ladies' tour."

And the follow-up apology?

"If it was an attack on Annika at all, I would like to apologize to her. It was not put that way. It came out the wrong way."

These were both quotes attributed to Vijay Singh. Singh, who finished today’s round tied for fourth, was asked to comment about Annika as he walked off of the eighteenth. “Maybe later,” was the response from Singh who has not commented on his remarks since withdrawing from The Colonial after winning The Byron Nelson. Singh said his withdrawal had nothing to do with Annika, but was a promise he’d made to his wife to take a vacation if he won The Byron Nelson.

The silence is deafening, and the desire to have questions answered has been spreading to other golfers present at The Colonial last week.

First, Kenny Perry was complimented by a reporter who said, “you more than anyone on this tour have coped with the Annika situation and prospered by it.”

What can someone say to that other than the obligatory “thank you,” that Perry responded with.

Lee Janzen’s ten-under-par finish today couldn’t go without some questions about Annika either.

At one point, Janzen likened Singh’s comments to those of other high-profile personalities with other comment controversies. “What he said was his opinion, and you know, it was supposed to be freedom of speech. In other areas other than sports you can see when people voice their opinion and it is not a popular one…the Dixie Chicks are catching a lot of heat. They have the right to voice their opinion, it doesn’t mean they are right, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t face some consequences either.”

The bigger question still remains. When exactly does Singh think “maybe later” will come? It should be assumed that Singh’s entry into The Memorial indicates a desire to win the tournament. Winning means that Singh will need to submit himself to at least one press conference where the question will come up once again.