Sorenstam content with one try

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Annika Sorenstam left the Colonial without a paycheck, although she could hardly call her historic week a total loss.

"I got two phone numbers, so that's pretty good," she said, jokingly.

Those belonged to Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson, the rookies who played alongside Sorenstam over two exhilarating, exhausting rounds as she became the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour. Sorenstam struck a quick friendship with Barber and Wilson.

"I'm proud to stand next to her," Wilson said. "She's got a lot of game."

Added PGA Tour regular Jay Williamson: "I'd trade my swing for hers any day."

Despite three months of hype that followed her wherever she went, and a 7,080-yard course that was the longest and toughest Sorenstam ever faced, she held her own against the best competition in golf with creditable rounds of 71-74.

In that respect, Sorenstam proved she could play with the boys.

"I really tested myself from start to finish, and that's why I was here," she said.

Then again, Sorenstam didn't miss a shot in the first round and still couldn't break par. She finished at 5-over 145, good enough to beat 11 guys, trailing 95 others.

Sorenstam can play on the PGA Tour. The question is whether she can compete.

"It's far from making the cut," said Sorenstam, who missed that by four shots. "I know that. But this is my first chance. And sometimes you've got to do things over and over again to get good at it."

That's where Sorenstam draws the line.

The raucous ovation she received after closing with a 14-foot par putt was still ringing in her ears late Friday afternoon when Sorenstam made it clear that once was enough.

"It was a great week but I've got to go back to my tour, where I belong," she said. "I'm glad I did it, but this is way over my head."

Mostly because she split time in the midst of a media circus. The number of reporters and photographers tagging along inside the ropes outnumbered the fans that watch her at some LPGA Tour events.

Every hole at Colonial felt like No. 18 at a U.S. Open. There were so many fans that some cheered for shots they never saw.

Sorenstam returns to the LPGA Tour this week in Chicago as the defending champion. She won the Kellogg-Keebler Classic by 11 shots last year, even though it was a 54-hole event.

If there is a place for women on the PGA Tour, Sorenstam will leave that to someone else.

"If a lady is good enough to get an invite or she qualifies, she should have every right to come here," Sorenstam said. "In my case, this is not something I want to keep pushing. I know where I want to play."

Sorenstam stayed busy even after her round by doing television interviews. When she finished the last one late Friday evening and descended the stairs, she found Jeff Sluman and Billy Andrade waiting.

They waited nearly 10 minutes just to congratulate her on a performance that can't be measured by the score alone.