Cherry Hills Village – The Milam family camped out at the rope behind the ninth green early Thursday, positioning themselves to watch Annika Sorenstam’s finishing hole in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Chris and Melessa Milam, of Parker, and their three young children – Clancy, Minoah and Michaela – patiently waited for the payoff, a great view of the star they had come to see.
Other threesomes came and went as fans matched names with faces, patiently waiting out the snail’s-pace five-hour round. Soon, the area between the Milams and the clubhouse was transformed from an open space to a shoulder-to-shoulder mob of strangers smelling of sunscreen.
The black-clad Annika was in sight, a huge gallery advancing with her every step, from tee to green, lining each hole she played and packed around the green she was hitting into.
Her first name can be hint enough, and not only because of its uniqueness. Unlike Eldrick Woods, she doesn’t even need a nickname. (“Here comes Eldrick!” isn’t all that catchy.)
The 34-year-old Swede – who began her quest for the third leg of the Grand Slam on Thursday with an even-par 71, two off the pace after the first round – is atop the leader board as an LPGA attraction. At this stage of her career, that’s true even on her bad days. Sorenstam closed out her round with a bogey 5 on No. 9. After watching that, the Milam family picked up their blanket and prepared to move.
But they had to wait because of the congestion on a day when, at times, it seemed as though most of the crowd of 22,251 had come for one reason.
It was as though the arena lights had just come back on after Abba sang “Dancing Queen” as the encore. Or as though Avalanche star Peter Forsberg, who was in Sorenstam’s gallery, had scored a goal in overtime to end a National Hockey League playoff game.
“I feel the support, there’s no doubt,” Sorenstam said a few minutes after her round. “The crowd here is incredible.”
Sorenstam admitted to being nervous early in her round – she hit her first drive in the rough and bogeyed the hole – but acknowledged the crowd throughout with smiles and quick waves after good shots.
“They cheer for good shots, and the energy is out there, the atmosphere is there,” Sorenstam said. “It’s fun to play in front of crowds that understand the game.”
In the afternoon, the gallery for the LPGA’s next biggest name, 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie, was roughly half the size that followed Sorenstam. A brief weather delay and the overall thinning of the crowd as the day wore on probably had something to do with that.
By then, one of the fans who had followed Sorenstam around all morning – Darby O’Neill, 58, of Aurora – had changed his wardrobe. While with his wife, Nancy, in the morning, he jumped in and out of Sorenstam’s gallery at various stages of her round, watching her play five holes. “My wife’s a big Annika fan,” O’Neill said.
Even among the large Sorenstam throng, O’Neill was noticeable because he wore a bright yellow Swedish national hockey team jersey, stitched with Forsberg’s name and No. 21. Later, he decided that wearing the jersey to show his support of Sorenstam hadn’t worked.
“Annika bogeyed the first hole I watched and the last hole I watched,” O’Neill said, laughing. “Then all I heard the rest of the day was ‘Peter Forsberg’s here somewhere – in the blue shirt.”‘
After the morning rounds, O’Neill took Nancy home and picked up his son, Brian, a Rangeview High School student. Father and son did a quick wardrobe exchange. By the afternoon, as they watched Wie play the ninth hole, the father had on a regular golf shirt, and the 14-year-old son, Brian, was wearing the Forsberg jersey.
Forsberg has been on a Stanley Cup champion twice, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player and been an Olympic gold medalist. In Sweden, his nickname, “Foppa,” is universally recognizable, and the name of his best-selling biography roughly translates to “Magic Boy.”
As a Swedish national sporting hero, Sorenstam is giving him a run for his money – or kroner.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@earthlink.net.
