Fort Worth, Texas ? Annika Sorenstam was so precise Thursday it was almost numbing.

Fairways and greens. Ho-hum.

“As the round went along, I was just wondering if she would ever miss a shot,” said Aaron Barber, who played in Sorenstam’s group. “I’ve never seen anyone go this long without missing a fairway. She hit the middle of the green so solidly.”

If only golf were that simple. If only the high grass and trees served to be nothing more than scenery on a course.

Pick your fantasy for golf: to be as long as John Daly or as straight as Sorenstam.

Truthfully, most golfers would pick Sorenstam. Her game will win more bets on the course than Daly’s.

Sorenstam showed Thursday that accuracy is the antidote for a lack of power. She shot 1-over-par 71 at Colonial Country Club.

Sorenstam did it on a 7,080-yard course that plays nearly 700 yards longer than the average LPGA venue. Patrick Sheehan, one shot out of the lead at 5-under, said it would be like a PGA Tour pro playing on an 8,000-yard course.

Sorenstam, though, managed to hang with the guys, impressing them in the process.

“She’s the best female in the world,” Sheehan said. “She does things better than I do. She drives it straighter and probably putts better. The only advantage I have over her is length.”

After shooting 72, Barber only wished he were as accurate as Sorenstam. He played a few holes from the trees.

“If there’s something to be learned, it’s how important distance control is and how you can play good golf on a tough course even if you don’t hit it a long way,” Barber said.

Length wasn’t a big factor for Sorenstam. On most holes she had 6- and 7-irons into the greens. She told Barber, “I can’t believe how far I’m hitting the ball.”

The few times she needed the long clubs, she delivered. On the par-4, 476-yard third hole, she hit a 7-wood from 213 yards to 13 feet.

Her best shot of the day probably came on the par-4, 470-yard fifth. It was the only hole where she missed the fairway, pulling her drive into the left rough.

With trees blocking her approach, she hit a low 4-iron, drawing the ball toward the end and allowing it to run up onto the green. But she didn’t convert, three-putting for her first bogey.

Still, it was one of those shots that showed she is more than a curiosity this week. It was a shot worthy of any tour.

Sorenstam pulled off her feats while playing under the most intense scrutiny a golfer ever has faced. Tiger Woods never endured anything like this. Even though he is under the microscope at each event, he knows if he fails, there’s another tournament, or another major coming up to offer him redemption.

Sorenstam basically has just one chance to show she can play at this level. Screw up and it’s an indictment not only of her game, but all of women’s golf as well.

Little wonder Sorenstam felt sick to her stomach before her opening drive Thursday.

“I can’t even imagine what she’s going through out there,” Sheehan said.

Sorenstam will have to battle to make the cut today. She may come up short.

But her play Thursday won her something equally as important as making the cut: respect from the PGA Tour pros.

“A few times, she said, ‘I don’t belong out here,”‘ Barber said. “Her game is solid. She’s good.”