Cromwell, Conn. ? The two young girls wearing green and white “Fore Suzy!” buttons watched Suzy Whaley finish play on the 11th hole of Tuesday’s practice round at the Greater Hartford Open and shyly approached her for an autograph.

Whaley, who became the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event since Babe Didrikson Zaharias did it in 1945, saw them coming, flashed a smile, reached in her golf bag for a Sharpie, and signed the two youngsters’ visors.

The moment reflected the philosophy that Whaley, 36, has articulated since her announcement in December that she would accept the invitation she earned by winning the 2002 Connecticut Section PGA title and compete with the men at the Hartford tournament, which begins Thursday.

“I remember being 9 years old and attending PGA and LPGA tournaments,” Whaley said. “I loved it when the players would sign my hat or ball. I still have scorecards from Nancy Lopez and JoAnne Carner. Thinking back on it, you wonder if that moment made me want to pursue golf as a career.

“If I can do that for a little girl that comes out and watches, whether it’s one or 100, then I will have reached one of my goals.”

Whaley is the second woman to participate in a PGA Tour event this year. Annika Sorenstam competed in May’s Colonial tournament but did so on a sponsor’s exemption.

Whaley’s practice round ended on the 14th green as thunderstorms lashed the TPC at River Highlands, dumping more than two inches of rain. It was the last round she was to play in relative anonymity this week.

This morning, she will tee off in the tournament’s Celebrity Pro-Am with Bo Jackson, the former two-sport standout and sneaker pitchman. For her first round Thursday, she is paired with two little-known Tour rookies, Anthony Painter of Australia and Akio Sadakata of Tampa, Fla., going off at 12:48 p.m.