Annika Sorenstam

  • Born: October 9, 1970
  • Place of Birth: Bro, near Stockholm, Sweden

SPORT: Golf

Early Life

Annika Sorenstam was born in Bro, near Stockholm, Sweden, on October 9, 1970, to Tom and Gunilla Sorenstam. Annika’s younger sister, Charlotta, also grew up to be a professional golfer. Instead of ice skating, skiing, or tobogganing, Annika preferred golf, a sport usually associated with warmer climates than that of Sweden. Annika began to play when she was twelve years old.

Before Annika began playing golf, she participated in tennis, a sport that could be played indoors as well as outdoors. While she was considered a good athlete, she never reached a top-ten ranking as a junior tennis player in the city of Stockholm. So, she turned to golf, a game she could practice on her own. Later in life, she developed a reputation as something of a loner, and golf suited her well.

The Road to Excellence

Annika was a member of the Swedish national golf team, with which she came under the tutelage of head coach Pia Nilsson. Annika’s training came primarily from the Swedish Golf Federation. The guidance of Nilsson, emotional support from her parents, and her own abilities and belief in her skills paved the way to greater opportunities. The training Annika received from the Swedish Golf Federation resulted in a scholarship to the University of Arizona at Tucson.

At the university, she was a two-time all-American golfer and world amateur champion in 1992. She won seven collegiate honors, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship and the College Player of the Year Award. After an excellent amateur career, she turned professional in 1993.

The Emerging Champion

Annika’s two years of competitive collegiate experience helped to hone her skills, and when she quit the University of Arizona in 1992, her future looked bright. In 1993, she established herself as Rookie of the Year on the Women Professional Golfers’ European Tour. That same year she joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), competed in three events, and earned nearly $50,000.

In 1994, Annika was named Rolex rookie of the year on the basis of three top-ten finishes. She earned numerous victories and awards that year. She competed in nineteen events, with three victories, and earned $366,533, making her the season’s leading money winner. She won the Samsung World Championship with a 45-foot chip shot in a sudden-death playoff. In 1995, Annika rose above the competition, winning the Heartland Classic by ten strokes. She earned nearly $700,000 and was recognized as the season’s top money-winner. Sweden honored her as its athlete of the year.

In 1996, she won her second world championship and the Core States Betsy King Classic, finishing all four rounds in the sixties. She successfully defended her title at the US Women’s Open, and her career earnings topped the $1 million mark. She also earned a second Vare Trophy for achieving the season’s lowest scoring average. Her career earnings passed $2 million after she won the Longs Drugs Challenge and the J. C. Penney-LPGA Skins Game in 1997. That same year, she also was victorious in the Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions, the Michelob Light Classic, and the Hawaiian Ladies Open.

In 1998, Annika continued winning and finished the season as the first golfer in LPGA history to have a scoring average below seventy. By 1999, her career wins totaled eighteen. She played twenty-one tour events and earned $837,314. In 2000, she played in twenty LPGA Tour events, and she finished first in five of them. For the year, she earned more than $1 million.

In 2001, Annika began the season in spectacular fashion by winning four consecutive LPGA tournaments. In the Standard Register Ping, in Phoenix, Arizona, she became the first LPGA player in history to score under sixty in an eighteen-hole round by shooting a fifty-nine, thirteen-under par, in the second round. She also tied the LPGA record of twenty-eight for nine holes. Annika won the Kraft Nabisco for the first time in 2001. She won this major championship again in 2002 and 2005.

Continuing the Story

In 2003, Annika made history by competing on the men’s tour at the Bank of America Colonial golf tournament. She became the first woman to participate in a PGA event since Babe Zaharias in 1945. While there was some controversy surrounding this event, Annika was cheered on by the fans on the course. Beginning in 2003, she captured the LPGA Championship three years in a row. In 2003, she also won the Women’s British Open for the first time. She won her tenth major championship in 2006 with her victory at the US Women’s Open. In 2007, a neck injury forced Annika to take time off from golf. During the year, she did not win any LPGA tournaments, but she founded an organization called the ANNIKA Foundation, which is dedicated to helping women golfers develop their skills. In May 2008, she announced her retirement from professional golf, effective at the end of the 2008 season. During her remarkable career, Annika won nearly ninety tournaments around the world, including seventy-two LPGA events. She received many accolades throughout her career, including being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003 and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2021. In 2022, Annika’s eleven-year-old son, Will McGee, debuted in his first professional golf appearance alongside his mother in the PNC Championship.

After retiring, Annika remained a public figure. In business, her Annika brand promoted various golf products, including sports equipment, golf course design, and golfing academies. Her brand also ventured into wine distribution. Annika was also a frequent contributor to televised golfing events, providing commentary and analysis. In 2021, Annika returned to golf competition, winning the US Senior Women’s Open. Finally, Annika was a sought-after public speaker, talking about her life and athletic career. 

Summary

Early in life, Annika Sorenstam demonstrated skills in golf, a sport not usually associated with the snow and cold of Scandinavia. When she had gone as far as she could in her native country, she continued to hone her skills at the University of Arizona. After two years at the university, she left campus life and turned professional. In the LPGA, she established herself as one of the great female golfers of all time. Over the length of her career, Annika was named player of the year a record ten times and earned more than $22 million on the LPGA tour.

Bibliography

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Sorenstam, Annika. Golf Annika’s Way. New York: Gotham Books, 2004.

Weinman, Sam. “Twenty Years after Annika Sorenstam's Historic PGA Tour Appearance, 10 Things You Might not Remember.” Golf Digest, 23 May 2023, www.golfdigest.com/story/annika-sorenstam-20-years-colonial. Accessed 9 June 2024.

Woods, Bob. Annika Sorenstam. Chanhassen, Minn.: Child’s World, 2007.