Americans Heartily Endorse Annika Sorenstam's Appearance on PGA Tour

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Las Vegas sports books may be shedding tears, and so may a number of PGA Tour golfers competing at this week's Bank of America Colonial Invitational Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. Annika Sorenstam, arguably the best female professional golfer in the world, fired a 1-over-par 71 in the first round of the PGA Tour event Thursday -- from the same tees used by her male competitors. Las Vegas oddsmakers had set the over/under line on her first round at 76.5, and the Tour regulars who finished behind her now face a battle just to make the cut after Friday's second round.

Sorenstam was invited to play by the tournament's sponsors, becoming the first woman in 58 years to compete in a PGA Tour event. While some male golfers have criticized the decision to grant Sorenstam a "sponsor's exemption," a new Gallup Poll completed the night before the tournament began finds Americans highly supportive of the invitation. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed -- and 77% of golf fans -- say they support the decision to invite Sorenstam.

Support for the invitation is strong across all demographic groups. In fact, the 77% support level among golf fans is among the lowest found in the survey. There is very little difference in opinion on this issue by gender; 85% of women and 80% of men approve of the tournament organizers' decision to grant Sorenstam the exemption.

Doors Opening for More Competition Between Men and Women?

Sorenstam's feat could be challenged later this year on at least two occasions. Club professional Suzy Whaley qualified to compete in a PGA Tour event in July by winning an event last summer, and 13-year-old amateur Michelle Wie has accepted an invitation to compete in an event later this summer on the Nationwide Tour (the PGA Tour's developmental league).

Gallup also asked Americans whether they would favor more competition in professional golf tournaments between men and women. In this case, the results are not as supportive, but still nearly three out of four (72%) say they would like to see more women competing with men. However, among golf fans, the percentage is 59%.

The results vary somewhat among key demographic groups: 80% of women say they would like to see more competition, compared with 63% of men. Eighty percent of those who identify themselves as politically liberal support more competition between the genders, compared to 65% of those who describe themselves as conservative.

It should be noted that those who describe themselves as golf fans are more likely to be white, male, highly educated, earn higher incomes, and be politically conservative -- which helps explain why the support level is lower among golf fans than among the general population.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,014 adults, 18 years and older, conducted May 19-21, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Are you a fan of professional golf, or not?

As you may know, the sponsors of the PGA Tour golf tournament to be played in Fort Worth, Texas this week officially invited female golfer Annika Sorenstam to play, making her the first woman to play in a PGA tour event in 50 years. Just your opinion, would you say you approve or disapprove of the decision of tournament organizers to invite Annika Sorenstam to compete in the PGA Tour golf tournament this weekend?

As a general rule, would you like to see more women compete with men in professional golf tournaments, or not?