Annika Sorenstam is coming to town in the biggest gender equality event in sports since the battle of the sexes between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. Yes, sports fans, you can see the best female golfer in the world play with the men in your very own backyard.

If you had to pick a course that minimizes your ability with a driver, the Colonial, a par 70 course, would probably be it. Numerous golfers, including former champs Dave Stockton and Jay Haas, have gone so far as to recommend it as the men’s event for Annika to try.

If she does well or miraculously pulls out a victory, it would indeed be a defining moment in women’s sports. But what happens if she misses the cut or it becomes painfully obvious how short off the tee she is?

When asked, Tiger Woods said it would be “detrimental” to the women’s game if Annika posts a bad score.

Phil Mickelson was more positive. He predicted her to finish around No. 20 on one of the PGA’s shortest courses, but hoped he’d finish better than 19. (This quote is just funny, and I thought this was a good place to share it with you.)

Watching the best the LPGA has to offer struggle against men would only affirm the belief that women’s sports are inferior to men’s. A good LPGA golfer will be seen as only that, a good female golfer. Even if it isn’t fair, it may happen.

That’s what most of people on the “con” side of this argument would say. A year from now, only a few hardcore golf fans will remember this. I base that on three things. The first is that Annika doesn’t do well, and I’m fairly confident the mix of pressure and longer tees will do her in before Saturday. The other two things are actually two people, Margaret Court and Manon Rheaume.

I mentioned the famous tennis match where King beat Riggs. What is mentioned less often is the match Riggs staged earlier with Margaret Court. Despite being past his prime, Riggs beat Court handily. Learning from this, you can rest assured that the only tournament going down in the history books is the one where a female golfer wins or at least threatens to win against the men.

Manon Rheaume was the first female to play in the NHL, albeit during the exhibition season. In 1992, at age 20, she played goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightening and gave up two goals on seven shots. Of course, because she didn’t measure up, most people don’t know about her feat.

I should also add that Annika is not breaking new ground. Babe Zaharias played in a men’s event more than 50 years ago, the L.A. open. She even made it past the first cut until posting an awful third round score. Again, no success, no remembrance.

So, as usual, the right answer will probably fall between the two extremes. The Colonial will not mark a new age of women’s sports, nor will it deal a hard blow.

Annika’s 75-77 will fade into the ether until a female golfer with supernatural putting abilities storms in and some know-it-all columnist brings it up in an article.

Patrick Jennings is a freshman economics major from Melbourne, Fla.