"Hello, this is Annika Sorenstam"
Posted 11:56 a.m., May 15, 2008
“Hello, this is Annika Sorenstam.”
A day after the Swedish Hall of Fame golfer made the stunning announcement she was “stepping away” from competitive golf, my telephone rang and it was Annika Sorenstam calling for a planned interview about her upcoming tournament at RiverTowne Country Club. The LPGA event will be played May 29-June 1, but practice rounds begin May 26.
Not only did we talk about the announcement, which came on the heels of her 72nd career LPGA win, we also talked about the work planned in redesigning Patriots Point Links, her Academy, her wedding next January to Mike McGee, and also about her desire to have children.
“How many children do you want?” I asked.
Her laughing answer came couched as an athletic cliché: “One at a time.”
She said her decision will not affect the Ginn Tribute: “It will not affect anything. I'm still the hostess. I'm still going to go there. I mean, hopefully I will perform better this year than last year. You know, being the hostess and being a part of the game is something I'm going to continue in the future. So nothing is changing as far as I know, not from my end, anyway.”
I had a chance last weekend to watch Sorenstam’s win at Kingsmill last Saturday and Sunday, and she played scary good golf in winning by seven shots over a field that include Lorena Ochoa, who supplanted Sorenstam as the No. 1-ranked golfer. The only hiccup I saw was the drive on 18 Saturday that she yanked into the lake. But after getting her next drive safely over the water, she hit a tremendous 6-iron approach to about five feet and saved bogey.
I’ve made several trips to Mount Pleasant during the last week, and it was neat to see all the banners and billboards promoting the upcoming Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika. The days leading up to the event are extremely busy but they’re also exciting as we plan our coverage.
Not to be overlooked is the Charleston City Amateur which will be played Friday-Sunday at Charleston Municipal Golf Course. Thomas Bullock is the defending champion. And let’s not forget the Women’s City Amateur, which will be played the Tuesday-Thursday after the Ginn Tribute. Mallory Hetzel, the University of Georgia golfer from Summerville, is the defending champion, breezing to an eight-shot win last year.
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