I really enjoy seeing them and spending time answering their questions. We have 600 girls per year from 60 different countries playing our events. My ANNIKA Foundation has seven global events for junior girls. What advice do you have for young women who want to pursue golf competitively? They generate tremendous speed out of the rough and in the bunkers. They don’t mark their short putts, they just go up and bang them in. They are more aggressive around the greens and on the greens. The guys were 99% very positive and supportive.īesides raw power, do you think men have a natural edge over women in the sport of golf? The journey was wonderful, and I did get much better as I got comfortable being uncomfortable. I had been number one in the world for several years and I thought that playing against the men would make me better. I just wanted to challenge myself against the best players in the world. What prompted the invite and what was the general reaction among players and the press? It was the first time a woman participated in a men's tournament since Babe Zaharias qualified for the Los Angeles Open in 1945. I n 2003, you were invited to play at the PGA Tour's Bank of America's Colonial event.
I worked with them both many years and they helped me transform my game. I had one trainer named Kai Fusser and one swing coach named Henri Reis. Looking back, did you have trainers, or even caddies, who you think made a difference in your performance? I always enjoyed our conversations about getting better physically, mentally, and on the course. I used to practice with him when we were both number one.
Did you ever meet with him and exchange ideas about the game? Your career overlapped somewhat with that of Tiger Woods. I like traditional, tree lined courses with small greens and I also like playing links golf overseas. What golf courses did you enjoy playing most? Being inducted into the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame I suppose was the ultimate honor. Playing against the men at Colonial was special, and of course shooting 59. Completing the career grand slam was special. My first US Open was very special, as was my last in 2006. I was fortunate to accomplish a lot throughout my career. What are some of your most memorable finishes?
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Throughout your career, you won 94 professional tournaments, of which 10 were LPGA majors. I just hit fairways and greens and try not to make mistakes. What talents, or skills, do you think you had that overwhelmed the competition? The game has certainly been good to our family.Īt the University of Arizona where you enrolled, you became the first non-American, and freshman, to win the individual 1991 NCAA Division I championship. We both played in college, won the NCAA’s and went on to successful professional careers. We didn’t think much about it at the time, but I suppose so to a lesser extent. Were you Sweden's golf version of Venus & Serena?
Your younger sister picked up the game and eventually went professional too. When Liselotte Neumann won the US Open, she became one of my favorites. I saw Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson on TV. Growing up in Sweden, we didn’t get much coverage. By the time I was 16, I knew I wanted to focus on golf and in college, I knew I wanted to play professionally. I didn’t pick up a golf club until I was 12, which is late by today’s standards. Tennis was my first love, followed by downhill skiing. At what point did you realize that golf is your calling? You grew up in Sweden and started playing golf at a young age. Sports History Magazine asked the Swedish golf wonder to share her story with us. Retired today and living in Orlando, Florida, Annika keeps busy with her Foundation and various business interests. In 2003, she was invited to play at the PGA, the first time a woman participated in a men’s tournament since Babe Zaharias qualified in 1945. She turned professional the following year and by the early 2000s, she was firing a consistent and steadfast game that averaged below 70. at the University of Arizona when she won the 1991 individual NCAA Division I championship. 1 ranking for most of 2006, won multiple awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and topped the money list with career earnings of over $22 million. Born and raised in Sweden, the athlete prodigy held the world’s No. With 94 professional wins to her name, including 10 LPGA majors, Annika Sörenstam is one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game.
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