PETE MOLLICA | Golf Giant Eagle field builds with or without Annika

All the talk in recent weeks has been about whether or not Annika Sorenstam will or will not be playing in the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic June 9-15 at Squaw Creek Country Club.
The Giant Eagle tournament management team led, by executive director Eddie Thomas has said they have good sources who tell them Sorenstam will be playing.
But as yet Sorenstam has not signed the tournament's commitment sheet, which is required by the LPGA to play in the event.
Sorenstam still has more than two weeks to add her name to that list since players have until the week before the tournament to officially sign the list.
If Sorenstam comes it will be a huge lift for the tournament and the local fans who would love to see her compete here.
But what if Sorenstam doesn't come here?
Has survived for 13 years
Well, this tournament, which is considered one of the favorite stops for most of the LPGA professionals, has survived 12 of its 13 years of existence without the Swede.
Sorenstam has only played in 1998, when the event was played at Avalon Lakes, finishing in a tie for ninth place.
I don't think that Thomas or the Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, the tournament owners, are going to call off the tournament if she doesn't come.
Right now, with two weeks still remaining, the field for this year's Giant Eagle LPGA Classic is a solid one, maybe even better than most years.
Let's take a look at who is already committed.
There's seven of the LPGA's top 10 leading money winners. To go further there are 17 of the top 25 and 33 of the top 50 women's players in the world coming here already.
They've already got commitments from six of this year's eight tournament winners and all those numbers will increase by one should Sorenstam put her name on the list.
Just this week five prominent players added their names to the list and that included three players who have already won this season.
Pak is returning
Those included Si Re Pak, who won the 1998 Giant Eagle event, and currently is No. 1 on the LPGA money list with over $500,000 in winnings. Pak won the Ping Banner Health Classic in March.
France's Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, winner of the LPGA's first major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, is entered along with Candie Kung, winner of the Takefuji Classic.
Also coming to Squaw Creek is 2000 runner-up Pat Hurst and 1990 champion Beth Daniel, along with Meg Mallon.
Defending Giant Eagle champion Mi Hyun Kim will be back and the Korean native is on a streak that is second to none on the LPGA Tour this year.
Kim has made the cut in 52 straight tournaments going into next week's Corning Classic in New York. She has made all seven cuts this season and all 28 last year and hasn't missed one since the 2001 season and missed only one in 29 events that year.
In fact in her five-year LPGA career the 26-year-old has missed only six cuts and four of them came during her rookie season in 1999.
Charities are real winners
There's no doubt that the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic will again be a success whether or not Sorenstam plays or doesn't play. And for the 14th straight year area children's and educational charities will again be the big winners.
In 10 years the Mahoning Valley Sports Charities has donated over $3 million to those charities.
mollica@vindy.com