She wants to test herself against the best golfers in the world. That, in a nutshell, is why Annika Sorenstam is teeing it up in the PGA Tour's Colonial Invitational in Fort Worth, Tex. this week.

Sorenstam has established herself as the best the LPGA Tour has to offer. Indeed, a case could be made that she is the finest female player in history; at worst, she is one of a handful of players in the last 100-plus years that could claim that distinction.

It would almost be unnatural if she didn't wonder 'How would I do against the guys?' The truly elite athlete wants to test himself or herself against the finest competition available. And there is no question that the finest competition in golf is found on the PGA Tour.

So the 32-year old Sorenstam is taking advantage of an invitation extended by officials at the Colonial and will tee it up on Thursday. She will be playing a course that will play roughly 7,080 yards, a good 600-700 yards longer than the longest courses she plays on the LPGA Tour. She will be hitting from the same tees as her male opponents and hitting into the same greens. Par at Colonial Country Club is 70, and Sorenstam will likely have to shoot something around even par over the first two days of competition to make the 36-hole cut, which, for her would be a major accomplishment.

What she is doing is not without risk, to her own reputation and that of the LPGA Tour. If Sorenstam performs poorly, critics will no doubt remark that her skills are overrated, and that the quality of golf on the LPGA Tour is, at best, second rate.

Any golfer reading this dissertation is well aware that anything can happen in the heat of competition. This is, after all, golf. In spite of her meticulous preparations for this test, Sorenstam could still go out this week and shoot a pair of rounds in the 80s.

But that is a risk she is willing to accept and a challenge she is willing to face. And for that, she should be commended. Sorenstam understands the leap she is making and is fully cognizant of the caliber of play on the PGA Tour.

"I know that I'm coming to a stage that's totally different than I'm used to," she said last week, "a tougher course, tougher competitors, you name it, it's going to be different and obviously I'm aware. But this is just a test for me, I want to see what it's all about, I want to see how good my game is."

So this week she will step into the arena and risk being battered and bloodied, not for publicity's sake (for Sorenstam has never been a player who has sought the spotlight) but simply to answer the question 'How good am I?'

Sometime this week, perhaps Friday night, perhaps Sunday afternoon, Sorenstam will get an answer to her question. And at week's end, we should applaud her for having the courage to search for that answer.