Leading New Zealand golfer Greg Turner says Greg Norman is making "a mountain out of a molehill" by calling for women to be banned from men's tournaments.
Norman has created a stir in Australia by demanding a halt to women gaining sponsors' entries to men's events.
His comments come a week out from the ANZ Championship in Port Stephens, New South Wales, where top British professional Laura Davies has been granted an invitation entry.
Last month, American prodigy Michelle Wie, 14, only just missed the cut in the PGA Tour's Hawaiian Open.
Turner, a two-time New Zealand Open champion who recently ended his 20-year professional career, supported the occasional entry of a woman in men's events.
"Greg's a bit prone to making a mountain out of a molehill," Turner told Radio Sport yesterday. "It would theoretically become an issue if it started happening all the time and in large numbers.
"Events are looking to do something that's a bit of a novelty, and having a Michelle Wie or Laura Davies or Annika Sorenstam in the field, if they want to put themselves through that, then I don't think it's a big problem."
Sorenstam, the women's world No 1, started the trend last year when she played the PGA Tour's Colonial tournament, missing the cut.
Turner doubted women would become regular fixtures in men's events.
"If they do reasonably well it might occur more often, but I suspect they probably won't do that well that often. There is a bit of a gulf, and while they're tremendous players, the realities of trying to compete on the same footing as the men will prove just a step too far."
Norman, a former world No 1, urged the men's tours to change their rules to prevent women getting sponsors' exemption entries.
"I personally don't think it should happen," Norman said. "I think the situation is a marketing ploy."
- NZPA
Golf: Turner: Don't ban women
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