FORT WORTH, Texas, May 20 (UPI) -- Annika Sorenstam will be paired with PGA Tour rookies Dean Wilson and Aaron Barber in the first two rounds of the Colonial.
"The pairing looks great," Sorenstam said Tuesday at the par-70 golf course where she had a practice session cut short by rain.
She said she did not know either player but hoped to meet them before their opening-round tee time. "I hope we all play well."
The threesome is scheduled to tee off at 8:58 a.m. Thursday and be together again for Friday's second round, beginning at 1:43 p.m.
Sorenstam, who has won 43 times on the LPGA Tour, including once this season, is the first woman to play on the PGA Tour in 58 years. Babe Didrikson Zaharias played in three consecutive PGA Tour events in 1945, making the 36-hole cut in all three.
Last year's cut was three-over 143, and several players have said they do not expect Sorenstam to make it.
"I hope to shoot around par, then I'd be very happy and we'd see where that puts me," Sorenstam said. "I'm happy to be here. It's very different than what I'm used to. It's tough for me to put goals out there as to how I'll play. That's why I'm here, to see and find out where I'm at. I feel like I am ready. I can go right now. If I wait another five weeks or five months, I won't be any more prepared."
Wilson earned his PGA Tour card with a tie for 11th at the qualifying tournament last fall. Barber became a tour member this year after a tie for eighth at qualifying school.
