Appreciating Annika: You had to be there

Sorenstam has never played at Squaw Creek and tied for ninth in her only previous Giant Eagle Classic appearance.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- Gather 'round. Real close. You're about to listen in on a conversation between the best female golfer in the world (maybe ever) and her caddie, Terry McNamara.
We're at hole No. 3 during Friday's opening round of the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic at Squaw Creek Country Club. It's her second shot. The ball is in the rough, about three feet from the ropes and 135 yards from the hole.
"How is it?" Annika Sorenstam asks.
"You've got a shot," McNamara said.
"Good."
Sorenstam looks at her ball, then looks at the green and squints.
"The tree will come into play," she says. "But we have a lot of room."
She frowns.
"There's a ton of mud," she says. "I don't know what to do."
She clears some branches out of the way.
"I should punch it," she says, waving her arm toward the hole.
"It should sail up there," McNamara says.
Sorenstam lowers her glasses from her hat, grabs her club and fires.
"Oh, too high," she says.
It lands on the green, 15 feet from the hole. She frowns and takes a swing at a log, hitting it off the fairway and into the rough.
"Not a good shot," she says.
A few minutes later, she two putts for bogey.
Crowd following
Not impressed? Well, maybe you had to be there -- with the hundreds of fans, with the middle-aged men running alongside her, with the kids hoping for an autograph, or even just a smile and a wave.
"I love playing in front of crowds," Sorenstam, who finished at 1-under, said. "If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be here."
Mike Yannucci was one of two deputy sheriffs assigned to Sorenstam. He walked all 18 holes in a black uniform -- "it's hot," he said afterward, wiping his brow -- and helped clear a path between the autograph seekers and well-wishers.
"It was a great crowd," he said. "We only had one heckler."
The heckler -- a man in his mid-20s who had been drinking since at least 9:30 a.m. -- started yelling "Vijay" at the 17th hole. (Vijay Singh was one of the PGA players who voiced opposition to Sorenstam playing in The Colonial last month.)
Yannucci, and his partner, Mike Davis, escorted him out.
"That was the only problem," he said.
First look
Sorenstam, who was paired with Se Ri Pak and Young Kim, entered Friday's opening round having never played at Squaw Creek. She had only played in this tournament once, tying for ninth at Avalon Lakes in 1998. Still, she wasn't worried.
"I have a good caddie," she said.
McNamara had walked the course early in the week to help her get ready. His scouting report was simple.
"Hit it straight," he said with a laugh.
She played the back nine at 1-under par, then played even par on the front nine.
"It was so wet," she said. "It's tough to play."
But she's in contention, just three strokes behind the leader, Minny Yeo.
"I'm in good shape," she said.
Sorenstam should shoot better over the next days and the crowds will undoubtedly get bigger. That's fine with her.
"That's what you play for," she said.
"It's still as fun as ever," McNamara added.
Fan favorite
And not just for her. Jared Richards, 14, and Andrew Melamed, 13, were among the hundreds of people following Sorenstam. They've both seen Tiger Woods play -- "it was incredible," Melamed said -- and this is almost as good.
"I really like Se Ri, too," Richards, who lives in Shaker Heights, said. "That's kind of a cool pairing."
"Annika's pretty cool," added Melamed, who lives in Russell. "We might even get to meet her."
Two hours later, Sorenstam was walking back to the clubhouse and, just before she descended the steps, Richards and Melamed stuck out their hats and asked for her autograph.
She paused for a moment, then took their hats.
They were the last things she signed.
scalzo@vindy.com