Haven't seen this many press guys move so fast since the San Francisco earthquake. They couldn't have galvanized an army of sports writers into such urgency if they'd announced free lobster in the buffet line.
For months, all we've heard are reasons Annika Sorenstam is in way over her head playing with the men at the Colonial. Now word was spreading that the first lady of golf was headed to the first tee with Sergio Garcia and Tim Clark for a surprise late-afternoon practice round after a heavy rain subsided. It's a wonder somebody didn't pull a hamstring as we rushed the exits.
"Ain't this the damnedest thing you've ever seen?" one Texas-sized voice said in the gallery. "We're all out here waitin' for the train wreck. We've got at least some of the best players in the world and we're out here watching her.
"It's like a comet: Only comes around every 58 years."
Five holes later, including the vaunted Horrible Horseshoe -- Colonial's answer to Amen Corner -- the same guy was still following along but his voice had taken on a more respectful tone. "So far, I'm impressed," he said.
It's not as if Sorenstam brought Colonial's difficult opening section to its knees. She didn't and she won't, especially when the tournament begins tomorrow. But she handled herself rather well, leaving herself legit chances for birdies at five of the first six holes.
This being mere practice, it's hard to make truly meaningful assessments, but she did not look like a player destined to miss the cut by 10 shots as many knowledgeable observers have predicted.
She did take a mulligan at the first hole after her first drive of the round went haywire left. But on her second ball, she efficiently negotiated the easy 565-yard par 5, leaving herself a 20-foot putt.
At the second hole, a 400-yard par 4, her 150-yard approach shot settled within six feet of the cup. Those are just the warmup holes for the toughest stretch on the course, the Horseshoe, starting at No. 3 and ending with No. 5.
The third hole is a 476-yard par 4. Sorenstam launched a driver into the middle of the extreme left-handed dogleg, then smacked a 3-iron 12 feet left of the pin.
At the next hole, the rugged 246-yard par-3 fourth, dead into the teeth of a 32-km/h wind, Sorenstam hit two drivers, both short but was able to make par on both. Neither of her playing partners hit the green either. Only on his second ball did Garcia catch a sliver at the front edge.
At the par-4, 470-yard fifth, into a quartering wind, she shaped a driver from left to right into the middle of the fairway and came up 20 feet short of the flag with her approach. As she stepped to the sixth tee, she flashed a satisfied smile. "That wasn't so horrible," she said.
She also hit it close at the 393-yard par-4 sixth. It may not be significant that she didn't make any birdie putts. In practice, they're more concerned with hitting putts to various parts of the greens to get a feel for the nuances. What is significant is she didn't seem in the least overmatched by the meat of the course.
Defending champion Nick Price, critical of Sorenstam's inclusion here, expects she'll encounter trouble as the week goes on and the greens and fairways dry out.
"If the wind gets up and the sun comes out, this course will have some fire in it."
That will cause problems, not just for Sorenstam, but for many. But she hasn't become the best woman player in the world by not adapting.
That might not be enough for her to make the cut against this field, but it's likely to be enough to leave a few of them red-faced.
