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Annika Sorenstam Profile |
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Birth Date: October 9, 1970
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Birth Place: Bro, Stockholms län, Sweden
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Birth Name: Annika Sorenstam
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Height: 5'6"
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Biography |
Annika Sorenstam inherited loads of athletic potential when
she came into this world on October 9th, 1970. Her parents,
Tom and Gunilla, were sports enthusiasts gifted in tennis,
skiing, volleyball, and golf. Born and raised in Stockholm,
Sweden, Sorenstam's first passion was not the honorable game
of golf, but tennis. Even when her family moved to London
when she was 10, Sorenstam kept up the serious tennis
playing and was even ranked 12th in a junior competition
upon her return to her home country.
In her early teens, Sorenstam slowly began to realize that
her gift was, in fact, golf, not tennis. Sorenstam's tennis
opponents exploited her ordinary backhand shot and her
parents encouraged her to take up something she was
passionate about.
With the help of a nearby 18-hole course, she developed a
love for golf. The original Swedish female golf ambassador
Pia Nilsson soon noticed Sorenstam's talents and helped her
develop a formidable array of shots. Sorenstam's drive for
the game grew after watching fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann
win the U.S. Open in 1988.
When she was 19, Sorenstam received the green light to
attend the University of Arizona. There, she took college
golf by storm, earning several titles and championships
throughout the years. The All-American joined golf's
European Tour in 1993 following graduation, finishing second
four times and earning Rookie of the Year honors.
Sorenstam's eyes remained on the prize, however. The LPGA
Tour was the biggest stage for women's golf and she intended
to play with the best. Her dream came true in February of
1994 when she was granted full-time membership.
Despite slow beginnings on the Tour (her first win actually
came in a non-LPGA event in Australia), Sorenstam showed
promise. A second-place finish at the Weetabix Women's
British Open and several other great outings were enough to
convince the LPGA to grant her the Rolex Rookie of the Year
award. The award was well-deserved as Sorenstam exploded on
tour the following year and took home her first official win
on the biggest of stages: the U.S. Open. This win would
start a chain of incredible displays of talent that still
has not subsided.
Topping the money list in 1995, Sorenstam took home a couple
of Player of the Year awards and was given the distinction
of being named Sweden's Athlete of the Year. In 1996, she
repeated as U.S. Open champ and took home two other
victories as well. Women's golf was becoming more compelling
with the emergence of Sorenstam and a new rival in newcomer
Karrie Webb -- these two ladies were helping to change the
sport for the better.
Winning was a continuing pattern in the late '90s for
Sorenstam. She won 12 tournaments from 1997 to 1999, and
became the winningest LPGA player of the decade. Despite
some struggles in the major championships, Sorenstam sure
brought home the bacon. She was breaking records with career
earnings of $5, $6, $7, and now $11 million. Her teaming up
with Tiger Woods to play against rival Karrie Webb and David
Duval at the Battle at Bighorn in 2001 was the LPGA's first
prime-time event, and showed the world that women have got
game as well.
But it was her 2002 season that really made jaws drop.
Sorenstam was literally in the zone all year long, winning
11 titles highlighted by the defense of her Kraft Nabisco
Championship (her fourth major championship title). She took
home her fifth Rolex Player of the Year award and fifth Vare
Trophy, and set or tied 20 LPGA records, including lowest
scoring average ever. No question remained as to whether she
was the most dominant force in women's golf. Backed by
sponsors like Callaway Golf, Mercedes and Oakley, there was
(and is) no stopping her.
Amazingly, the high of those feats hasn't slowed Sorenstam
down. She has qualified to play in the men's Colonial
Tournament in May 2003, grabbing more headlines than ever
before as the second player to attempt such a crossover (and
the first in almost 60 years). |
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Other
Information |
Authored and released her first book in October 2004, a
combination autobiography and golf instructional book,
called "Golf Annika's Way".
Her hobbies are sports, music and cooking.
Swedish professional golfer, acclaimed by many as golf's
greatest female player
Attended the University of Arizona
Holds the record of the lowest score in a single round (59
in the second round of the 2001 Standard Register PING
tournament)[2006] |
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