Join the Discussion What are your thoughts on this issue? Chime in on the About Golf Forum.

Related Resources • Women's Golf Links • 2003 LPGA Schedule • Augusta National Debate

From Other Guides • History: Women in Sports

Elsewhere on the Web

Suzy Whaley and Michelle Wie are making themselves known to the world of golf.

When she plays in the PGA Greater Hartford Open this year, Whaley will become the first woman to compete in a PGA event - if Wie doesn't beat her to it.

Whaley qualified for the GHO by winning the Connecticut State Open, beating a field otherwise comprised entirely of men. Whaley played from tees 10-percent closer than the men's tees in the CSO, but will have to play from the same tees as the men during the PGA event.

Wie's story is more remarkable ... because she's only 13 years old. Yet she's already nearly 6-feet tall and regularly booms drives 300 yards.

Last year, as a 12-year-old, she attempted to qualify for the PGA Sony Open and, playing from the back tees, shot an 84. This year, she tried again and - again from the back tees - shot a 73.

Let's go over that again: A 13-year-old girl, playing from the back tees on a PGA course in a field full of some of the best men golfers in the world - shot a 73.

There's no doubt that Wie will be a superstar in women's golf, and there's little question that, if she keeps trying, she will eventually earn a berth in a PGA Tour event.

And there's no question that Whaley earned her spot in the Greater Hartford Open and deserves to be there.

But for those very reasons, the LPGA and other stewards of women's golf need to start thinking about what it will mean if women begin regularly earning berths in PGA Tour events.

It's not a question of the PGA being reserved for men only. It's not, after all, the MPGA - Men's Professional Golf Association. The PGA is for all pro golfers who are good enough to earn berths. Unquestionably, any woman who earns a berth deserves to play.

The question is whether that is good for women's golf. If Whaley and Wie are the rare breed and appearances by women on the PGA Tour remain rare - and retain a feeling of specialness - then those appearances are great for women's golf.

What would be bad for women's golf, however, is if women - particularly current LPGA stars - begin attempting to qualify for PGA events and their appearances in those events cut into the time they put into the LPGA Tour.

Imagine if Annika Sorenstam qualified for half of the PGA events, and therefore played only a limited schedule on the LPGA Tour. The impact on the LPGA would be disastrous.

The LPGA has enough trouble as it is retaining sponsors and fighting for TV time. To regularly lose its biggest stars to PGA events would be a terrible blow from which the LPGA might not recover. The LPGA could, conceivably, become a minor-league to the PGA.

Let's celebrate the individual accomplishments of Whaley and Wie and any women who follow by earning berths in PGA events.

But let's not lose sight of the fact that the strength of the LPGA Tour and the health of women's golf in general are inextricably tied together.