Fort Worth, Texas ? At precisely 8:58 a.m. CDT today, Colonial Country Club becomes Annika’s Alley, not Hogan’s Alley.

It may prove to be only a two-day shift of identity, as many players on the PGA Tour predict. But there is no questioning that the venerable course on the banks of the Trinity River will be the focus of the sports world this morning when Annika Sorenstam begins her opening round at the Bank of America Colonial.

Sorenstam, the top-ranked female golfer in the world, will become the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event. That has been known since Feb. 12, when she accepted a sponsor’s exemption to compete against 113 men in a 114-player field.

What no one, including Sorenstam, knows is what to expect once she signs her scorecard after 18 holes at the 7,080-yard, par-70 layout. Las Vegas oddsmakers have established an over-under of 76 1/2 for Sorenstam’s round today and a 153 total for 36 holes.

Sorenstam plans to shatter those expectations.

“I can do better than that,” Sorenstam said. “Under normal circumstances … on this course, I can shoot level par. If I shoot I shoot level par here, I’m going to be so pleased. That’s probably the best golf I’ll play.”

Based on results at the 2002 Colonial, two rounds at even-par would be enough to survive Friday’s 36-hole cut by three strokes. It would silence a lot of folks in the men’s locker room who can’t envision a Saturday tee time for a future LPGA Hall of Famer who has 43 career victories on the women’s tour.

“I think 140 (even-par) will be a bit of a stretch,” said Mark Brooks, a Fort Worth resident and former Colonial member who has logged more rounds on the course than any player in the field. “In her defense, I think there’s going to be an unavoidable amount of pressure. It’s just going to be a nightmare.”

That pressure, combined with Sorenstam’s lack of familiarity with the course, lays the groundwork for an early exit, said Jesper Parnevik, a fellow Swede who played with Sorenstam in a Tuesday practice round.

Annika Sorenstam high-fives playing partner David Darnell after she chipped on the fourth hole. Sorenstam was playing in Wednesday's pro-am at Fort Worth, Texas, in preparation for today's first round at Colonial Country Club.

“Making the cut, I think she’s got to play her very, very best and then some,” Parnevik said. “I think some of the expectations might be a little bit too high on her behalf. Like in any sport, there is a difference between women and men.”

Parnevik said breaking 75 in consecutive rounds would be a “pretty realistic” goal for Sorenstam, rather than breaking par. Even the co-recipients of the 2003 Ben Hogan Award, given to the nation’s top college golfer, can’t foresee Sorenstam playing Saturday at Colonial.

Ricky Barnes and Hunter Mahan, who finished 21st and 28th as amateurs at the 2003 Masters, both predicted a missed cut by Sorenstam after playing nine holes at Colonial before Monday’s trophy presentation.

“They were saying she was looking for a golf course she could do well on. But after playing the front nine here, I don’t think this is the place,” said Barnes, who dusted Tiger Woods by six strokes while the two were paired in Thursday and Friday rounds at the Masters. “This isn’t the easiest golf course out there. Based on what I saw, if they project the cut at 1- or 2-over (par), I don’t think she’ll make the cut.”

Others, like Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus, have projected Sorenstam to finish as high as the top 20 at Colonial.

In women’s locker rooms, the prevailing sentiment is pro-Sorenstam. Kris Tschetter, a former TCU golfer, predicted Sorenstam will have a Saturday tee time at Colonial and said it would be “a good bet” to take the under on the Las Vegas line.

Kelli Kuehne, a Dallas native who won the 1999 LPGA Corning Classic, said she would “get smoked” if she competed from the same tees in a match with her brother, Hank, a PGA Tour member. Yet she predicted success for Sorenstam at Colonial.

“I think she’ll make the cut and finish about 50th,” Kuehne said. “And a lot of people think I’m crazy for thinking that.”

Sorenstam said she was amused by all the analysis she had heard from “experts . . . who have never seen me play” during the past three months. She’s anxious to let her clubs do the talking at Colonial. And she’s got some advice for folks wondering if the “under” would make a good investment opportunity for someone in Las Vegas.

“Yeah, I would think so,” Sorenstam said. “I hope I make some people happy, and richer.”