It will play about 100 yards shorter when she becomes the first woman to tee it up in an official PGA Champions Tour event, the Turtle Bay Championship, Oct. 10 to 12. But it will still be very long.

"I'm going to wear out that 7-wood," said Stephenson, who kiddingly asked golf course superintendent Mike Honma if he could "firm up the fairways" that week so that she can get a little more roll on her ball.

"I'm so excited about doing this. This is going to be a wonderful experience," said Stephenson, winner of 16 LPGA tournaments and three majors, including the 1983 U.S. Women's Open.

Stephenson, who will be 52 in December, is probably the only senior woman with game to take on guys her age, including defending champion Hale Irwin and long-hitting John Jacobs, among the leading senior money winners, who will be here for the $1.5 million event on O'ahu's North Shore.

Her appearance in the senior tour event will follow a remarkable gender-mixing year of golf in 2003.

First, it was Annika Sorenstam playing in the Bank of America Colonial, followed by Suzy Whaley in another PGA Tour event, the Greater Hartford Open. Then Hawai'i's Michelle Wie played in the Bay Mills Open on the Canadian Tour last month and the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour last week.

Unlike the others, Stephenson will play the weekend because there's no cut in the senior tour event.

Stephenson said she was hesitant at first when the Turtle Bay Resort inquired in March. Mind you, this was months before Sorenstam played against the guys.

"It was a big concern," said Stephenson, who worried that "someone was going to do a 'Vijay' about it." Vijay Singh had been openly critical about Sorenstam's appearance in a PGA Tour event.

"At first, I really didn't think Annika was doing the right thing. I thought it would hurt the LPGA Tour if she didn't do well," Stephenson said.

"Not only did it not hurt the tour, it helped it. In one week, it changed everything. I'm involved with junior golfers. Even girls said, 'Tiger,' when asked who was their favorite golfer. Now, it's Annika."

But what really prompted Stephenson to accept the sponsor's exemption from the Turtle Bay Resort was doing it for the women's senior tour of which she is a strong supporter.

"We're struggling to get attention," said Stephenson, who was told by her senior women peers to go for it.

Stephenson, ever eager for new challenges, will tee it up to show that women over 50, like the men, can still play the game. Feedback has been nothing but positive, according to Stephenson, the 1974 LPGA rookie of the year and recognized as one of the tour's top 50 players and teachers.

"I've studied the winning scores," Stephenson said. "I'm confident I can do well. I'm a good fairway player, a good chipper. And I grew up in Australia, so I'm a good wind player. That's in my favor."

Stephenson is familiar with Hawai'i's brisk tradewinds, having played at Turtle Bay, Ka'anapali, Wailea, Princeville, Ko Olina and Kapolei when the LPGA Tour held tournaments in Hawai'i.

She has a particularly special memory of one LPGA tournament here.

"It was the last time my father (Frank) watched me play."

Stephenson hopes that the LPGA can come back to Hawai'i, especially since Wie is here.

Yes, she has heard all about the 13-year-old Punahou School freshman.

"She is creating tremendous interest in golf," Stephenson said. "I watched her play in Atlanta where she made the cut. She's so impressive, and so is her poise. She handles herself very well."

And yes, Stephenson will be allowed by the PGA Tour to play in a skirt at the Turtle Bay event.

Once featured as an LPGA poster girl, Stephenson feels there's nothing wrong in using sex appeal to promote the sport, a la tennis queen Anna Kournikova.

"A lot of the men golfers told me, 'I've had your poster for years and years,' " Stephenson said with a laugh.

Speaking of seniors

Tany Hong, 72, nearly shot his age with a 1-over-par 73 at the West Loch Golf Course in the 53rd Korean Invitational Tournament two weeks ago.

Hong, a former state attorney general and judge, closed with a 78 but still tied for low-gross honors with a 36-hole score of 151, losing after a tiebreaker with John Mun, who became the KIT's first back-to-back champion since Hung Soo Ahn (1976-1977).