| | Sorenstam Not Finished Yet
March 13, 2008
By Phil Howley
Men's professional golf belongs to Tiger Woods. There are
only ephemeral challenges to the claim, occasional protests
from an otherwise docile and subservient PGA Tour.  | | Injuries contributed to an off year
for Annika Sorenstam in 2007. (John Mummert/USGA) |
But there is
a game going on in golf, a contest crowded with headliners, a
table where the seat at the head is still a matter of
contention. The honor currently belongs to 26-year-old Lorena
Ochoa, who was the Associated Press Female Athlete of the
Year in 2007 for the second year in succession. Ochoa set new
standards, winning eight times and earning a record of
$4,364,994. She is all that and a bag of chips.
Yet the LPGA is not a one-trick pony. The LPGA is a League of
Extraordinary Women, a group Sean Connery might be proud to
lead. From week to week, any number of players can contend. A
plethora of stars shine in the galaxy, which includes Paula
Creamer, Angela Park, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel and
2007 U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr.
Ah yes, and then there is Annika Sorenstam.
You remember her, the former most extraordinary woman of all,
the steely Swede who dominated her sport Woods-style with 70
LPGA Tour wins and 10 majors, including three U.S.
Women's Open championships (1995, 1996, 2006).
Over the past two seasons, Sorenstam seemed to get of out of
the way of the young and talented stampede. A series of
injuries and distractions appeared to force an abdication.
Last year, Sorenstam failed to win an LPGA regular-season
event for the first time since 1995.
But it turns out, at 37 years of age, Sorenstam is not ready
for the rocking chair, not ready to pass the baton, not
willingly anyway. Turns out, she's itching for a fight.
"I'll say I was disappointed about '07,"
Sorenstam said at the recent HSBC Women's Championship.
"I had a chance to play 13 events, and half of it I was
just trying to get back to playing some good golf.
"I did go back to basics when it comes to working on my
swing this winter, but in other terms, I wouldn't say
I'm starting from scratch. I mean, I still have
experience that I'm carrying with me. I still have the
excitement. I know what it's like to be out here. In that
sense it's just a matter of going back to where I was.
You know, it's going to take some hard work and some
dedication, but nothing I can't handle."
Sorenstam wasted no time getting back on the horse. She made
the trip to Hawaii to play in the first event of the year and
immediately re-established herself, winning the Open at ,
birdieing two of the final three holes to close it out.
"I'm excited to be back," she said. "I
think that's going to be easier the rest of the year for
me . knowing that I'm swinging better again and knowing
that the desire is there.
"Last year the desire wasn't there. And my swing was
definitely not there. Now it is. And, like I said, those are
two important components you need to play well and to be the
top player out here."
The road back is long, congested and unclearly marked.
Consider where Sorenstam comes from. She is the only player
in LPGA history to win the Rolex Player of the Year Award
eight times. She has won the Vare Trophy scoring title six
times, set the single-season scoring record (68.69), recorded
a 59 in competition. She is the only LPGA player to win Money
List, POY award and Vare trophy in the same year in five
different years.
The landscape has changed. With Ochoa, with the stable of
worthy contenders, with the embarrassment of riches on the
LPGA Tour, Sorenstam may never get home again, not to the
place where she twice won as many as 11 times in a season.
That place may no longer exist.
"I just believe that there's more players that play
at that top standard," said Karrie Webb, who has 35
career wins, seven majors and two Rolex Player of the Year
trophies. "I think when I first came on the Tour, there
was probably only 20 players that really could compete at a
top level for most of the year.
"But now I think it's at least half the field has
the ability to hang in there week in and week out and play
consistently good golf. That then raises the level of what
the top players have to do to stay up with what the 50th
player in the world plays at. So I think that's what the
difference is."
For Sorenstam, the picture began to change in 2005, when her
marriage to David Esch officially came to an end. Midway
through the following season, Sorenstam began experiencing
pain and restrictions in her neck. Not long after, it was
discovered she had ruptured and bulging discs.
After trying to play through it in the second half of 2006,
she finally took two months off early last year to rest and
rehab. A golfer of her ilk, of her competitive nature, does
not go quietly to injury.
"The toughest part is not being in contention, not being
able to perform to the level that I know how," said
Sorenstam. "You know, when I was sidelined with the
injury, first of all, I was away from competition for two
months. When you're a competitor like myself, that's
not so easy. I mean, I love to play and that's what I do
for a living. So that was hard."
To get all the way back, Sorenstam had to be patient - one
small step before one giant leap. "I was forced to take
it easy, and that's not something I'm used to,
either. I'm always full force, and I go, go, go."
The effortless swing had to be rebuilt. The back-nine poise
had to be recaptured. At the same time, Sorenstam has been
redefining her life off the course, which includes a marriage
engagement and expanding interests in golf course design and
clothes.
Her return to low numbers and top rankings will require
balance and synergy, as well as technique.
"Hopefully this year I can be happy on the golf
course," said Sorenstam. "I don't take it for
granted, but I'm focused. I know what it takes. I know
how it makes me feel and it's worth it. It's a lot of
hard work, don't get me wrong, but I know what I want to
do.
"Is it going to be fluid? Is it going to be straight?
No. It's going to be bumpy, but I'm going to get
there."
Ochoa is the No. 1 player in the world of women's golf
these days. She showed her form at the HSBC Women's
Champions, dusting the runner-up Sorenstam by 11 strokes.
Several others show No. 1 promise. But if the golf community
has learned anything over the past two decades, it should
know that you never underestimate Sorenstam.
"It's excitement, it's . I know I can do
it," said Sorenstam, who is currently No. 2 in the Rolex
Rankings. "I lost the (No. 1) ranking for several
reasons; I mean, obviously, one is because Lorena plays so
well. But another reason is because I didn't play. I want
to play, I want to be competitive, and therefore I'm
looking forward to a season where I'm going to
play."
PhilHowleyis a freelance writer whose work has appeared previously
on www.usga.org.
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