With PGA tournament officials lining up to lure Annika Sorenstam to their events, Tiger Woods says good for her -- as long as the LPGA Tour star chooses the course that best plays to her game.
Woods told reporters Wednesday he would like to see Sorenstam play in a PGA Tour event, and he thinks the Greater Milwaukee Open is one of only a few tournaments in which she could be competitive.
"I think she has to, if she's going to do it, pick the right course, one that suits her game," Woods said in a telephone conference call. "I don't think she'd want to play a course like Muirfield Village [site of the Memorial], a long course with a lot of forced carries.
"On the right course, Colonial or Milwaukee, I think she's got a great chance of playing well. Obviously, Annika has the talent to compete."
Sorenstam, 32, has won 24 LPGA tournaments in the last three years, including 11 last year.
The Greater Milwaukee Open is played at Brown Deer Park Golf Course, a 6,759-yard layout that is the second-shortest course on the PGA Tour.
Last week, tournament director Dan Croak said he would give Sorenstam a sponsor's exemption to play in the 2003 Greater Milwaukee Open, scheduled for July 10-13, if she expressed interest in doing so.
The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the Chrysler Classic of Tucson has a sponsor's exemption ready and waiting for Sorenstam should she want to play in the event at the end of February.
Tournament chairman Scott Butler confirmed to the Republic that officials are talking with Sorenstam's agent, Mark Steinberg, about the possibility of luring the world's best female golfer and former University of Arizona star to play in Tucson.
Tucson becomes the second tournament to offer an exemption to Sorenstam since she made public her desire to play in a PGA Tour event. Late last week, the B.C. Open said it would give her a spot, and others also have expressed interest.
Sorenstam said last week in Orlando, Fla., that she would relish the chance to play a PGA Tour event, provided she received a sponsor's exemption and the tournament was held on a course that suited her game.
The Tucson National course and the event's timing -- two weeks before the LPGA season starts, which is also in Tucson -- appear to be a good match for Sorenstam. While at Arizona, she practiced on the 7,109-yard track.
"The PGA Tour has always said it's about having the best players in the world compete," said Phil Mickelson, the third-ranked player in the world. "And we have never differentiated, male or female. It's just that there are a select few female players that can compete on the PGA Tour."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.