When in Doubt Take the High Road: Sorenstam Withdraws from Tournament

My buddy Alex just sent me an article on the shenanigans going on in the LPGA Tour. For awhile now, the LPGA has been bending over backwards giving exemptions to Michelle Wie because she is a big drawing card. Well, Wie was given an exemption to the Samsung World Championships, which is supposed to be limited to the top golfers in the game, despite having a terrible season.

Turns out that they needed to give the exemption to Annika Sorenstam, a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame and, prior to this year, one of the top golfers in the game. Wie did not drop out, so the LPGA created a bogus rule that would allow Sorenstam to enter the tournament. There was some backlash about this rule change for Sorenstam and rather than create additional ill will, Sorenstam withdrew from the tournament.

There are two lessons in here. First, it is never a good idea to change rules in the middle of a championship season. This has particular relevance to me because there is a movement afoot in one of my fantasy football leagues to do just that.

The second lesson in the Sorenstam debate is the more important one. And that is that it is always better to take the high road.

Some situations in life it is hard to recognize the difference between right and wrong. In other situations it is easy to recognize what is right but it takes a lot of courage to go ahead and do the right thing.

There is a cliché tossed around that sports build character. But the truth is that they do not build character so much as they reveal which persons have it and which do not. I think it is safe to say that Annika Sorenstam's character was revealed by her actions in turning down guaranteed money from the Samsung World Championships. Usually in golf, players have to make the cut in order to get a check. But the Samsung does not have a cut and the golfer who finishes in last place gets $12,499 for her efforts.

Now, that's not a lot of money for Annika Sorenstam. However, that's what she would get if she finished last. The Samsung upped its purse for the 2007 season to $1 million with the winner taking home $250,000. Even a millionaire like Sorenstam could use another $250,000 lying around the house. Suddenly, her decision to withdraw takes a little more backbone.

We play up the negative in sports, especially professional sports. Non-sports fans can recount the misdeeds of Michael Vick or lament the use of steroids or the out-of-wedlock children of various NFL and NBA players.

But there are plenty of good stories around if one's focus is not simply on the negative. Annika Sorenstam deserves a tip of the hat for taking the high road. She willingly accepted a financial hit to do what was right. And that is certainly more than we can say for Michelle Wie or the LPGA.

I hesitate to be too harsh on Michelle Wie. She will turn 18 on Thursday and is trying to balance a pro golf career along with going to Stanford. But she has professional management that should be looking out for her best interests. Perhaps they decided that the guaranteed check from the Samsung was in her best interests. If so, then they deserve scorn.

But I reserve the biggest wag of the finger to the LPGA for trying to have its cake and eat it, too. They wanted Wie so bad; they gave her the exemption back in March. They wanted to promote Wie's presence in the tournament and banked on Sorenstam winning a major or finishing among the money leaders.

When that didn't happen, they bent their rules to allow both players to participate. Sorenstam didn't recognize initially how wrong changing the rules during the championship season was, so she accepted the invitation to play. But credit her for recognizing the backlash when it occurred.

We can only hope the LPGA will take a look at its policy to bend its rules whenever it is convenient and decide that it is not fair for the rules to apply to every golfer save the most popular ones.

Meanwhile my hope is that my fantasy league owners vote down the two rule change proposals currently on the table. The NFL does not change rules in the middle of the season and neither should we. We'll see if my fantasy league is any better than the LPGA.