Brian Kontak is breaking down barriers.
Kontak, a professional golfer, is fighting discrimination by trying to become the first man ever to play in an event on the professional women's tour. But he'll probably never be mentioned in the same sentence as Martin Luther King.
The 31-year-old member of the Nationwide Tour (essentially a farm system for the PGA Tour) recently announced he would try to qualify for the US Women's Open in July, undoubtedly in response to a developing situation on the PGA Tour.
LPGA Tour player Annika Sorenstam has been granted a sponsor's exemption to play in the Colonial, a PGA Tour event, in May. If she follows through with her plans, she'll be the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event since Babe Didrikson Zaharias 58 years ago.
Sorenstam has absolutely dominated the LPGA Tour over the past few years. Last year alone she won 11 tournaments in the United States and finished with the lowest scoring average in LPGA history.
The Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum located at 30.0...
Annika Sörenstam (SWE) during pro-am before 2008 ...
maaf teman2But can she compete with the men?
Many prominent male players have exercised political correctness by waxing poetic about what an excellent player she is and even predicting that she will be more than a sideshow, and make a strong showing at the Colonial.
Reality deems it a publicity stunt. Colonial sponsors granted her an exemption to put their tournament in the spotlight. The fact is no female golfer can compete with the best male golfers in the world.
But perhaps a more pressing issue has arisen. By accepting the exemption, Sorenstam will be taking a spot she did not earn. While Sorenstam bypasses qualifying for the tournament, Kontak and countless other superior male players who make their living playing golf will be passed over in order to include her.
Careful about statements made
One statement in particular seemed slightly biased based on supposition and not fact: "The fact is no female golfer can compete with the best male golfers in the world." Until Sorenson gets the opportunity to play alongside the best male golfers, making an unqualified statement like this may taint the paper as very slanted against women. As for allowing Kontak to compete in the LPGA tour, you have to understand that the LPGA was created because women weren't allowed to compete against men. The final hope, in a real world, is that, after Sorenson competes at Colonial, it may show that women golfers have raised their competitiveness and may, one day, open the PGA fully to women, thereby creating a situation that the LPGA is no longer needed.
Aside from that, the paper was very well written. Good job
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