Davies Next to Play in Mens Event

LODDEKOPINGE, Sweden (AP) -- Laura Davies will become the fourth woman to tee it up against men this year when she plays in the Korean Open.

‘I’m not suggesting I’ll go out there and win, but I’m hoping to make the cut and certainly not make a fool of myself,’ Davies said Thursday. ‘I’ll be going out there with some expectations.’

John Daly is among those scheduled to play in the Oct. 9-12 event on the Asian Tour. Sergio Garcia won the Korean Open last year, although it was not immediately known if he was going to defend.

Annika Sorenstam became the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour when she missed the cut at Colonial with rounds of 71-74. Connecticut club pro Suzy Whaley qualified for the Greater Hartford Open and also missed the cut. Michelle Wie, the 13-year-old from Hawaii, is to play on the Nationwide Tour next week at the Boise Open.

Davies has been through this routine before.

Five years ago, she played in the Johnnie Walker Super Tour against eight men, an exhibition in which four rounds were played in four Asian cities.

Vijay Singh won with a 19-under 269. Davies finished last, 39 strokes behind.

‘I wasn’t playing particularly well when that happened, unfortunately,’ Davies said. ‘Now I’m playing pretty good, so it will be interesting.’

Davies said that when she was invited to play in the Korean Open, she thought it was for women.

‘Then I realized a couple of minutes later, when they said John Daly was playing,’ she said. ‘I figured he wasn’t going to put a frock on. I figured out what it was.’

Daly’s agent, Bud Martin, said he was ‘tentatively planning’ to play the Korean Open.

Davies has won 64 times around the world, including four majors. She doesn’t think she has the game or the mental toughness to do what Sorenstam did on the PGA Tour, but figures the Korean Open will be subdued enough to give her a chance.

‘The media coverage will be nothing compared to what Annika had, so I think I can be quite relaxed and play in it,’ Davies said. ‘To do what she did, you have to be totally confident in yourself.’