A soggy start, but things will heat up quickly at LPGA

The Giant Eagle LPGA Classic got off to a slow and soggy start today at Squaw Creek County Club, but the weatherman appears prepared to cooperate the rest of the weekend, and there is no question that the competition is going to heat up.
An impressive field of golfers has come to the Mahoning Valley for its 14th annual LPGA event. The field includes the tour's top three money-winners, Annika Sorenstam, Grace Park and Se Ri Pak. The winners of eight of the 12 LPGA events so far this season are at Squaw Creek, as well as the defending champion, Mi Hyun Kim, who, excuse the pun, is under the weather herself this week.
This is Sorenstam's first appearance at the LPGA here since 1998. That year, she tied for the most tournament wins on the tour with Pak, each having won four. Last year Sorenstam led in wins all by herself, with 11.
It is in some ways unfair to focus so heavily on Sorenstam. She is not the LPGA, just as Tiger Woods is not the PGA, but she is such a commanding presence that she can't be ignored.
Last year, Sorenstam played in 22 of the tour's 32 tournaments. She sat out nine and failed to make the cut in one. Of the 22 tournaments she played, she came in first, second or third in 17.
Just to see her play this weekend, as she pursues her third win in a row, would be worth the price of admission. But there is much more to see.
A higher level
As tens of thousands of golf fans and casual observers have found in past years, the LPGA tournament provides an opportunity to see golf played at a level most of us only see on TV. That has been true the eight years the tournament was played at Avalon Lakes and the five previous times at Squaw Creek.
The top names in professional women's golf have showed up every year since 1990, when Beth Daniel took home the top prize of $60,000. Over those years, the Giant Eagle tournament, which was born the Phar-Mor tournament and carried the name Youngstown-Warren LPGA Classic from 1993 through 1996, has mirrored the LPGA's growth in popularity and purses. Last year's total purse was $1 million, with Kim taking home $150,000.
Given the wet conditions it is unlikely that Sorenstam or anyone else will be able to beat the tournament record for a best round, which stands at 64 and has been matched by nine golfers in six years, including Kelly Robbins and Beth Bader last year. But there will still be some spectacular golf being played, starting bright (we hope) and early Saturday and Sunday mornings.
And if great competitive golf isn't enough to lure you to Vienna Township for this stellar event, consider this: Each year the tournament produces hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mahoning Valley charities. It's the closest thing the Valley has to a guaranteed win-win.