Sorenstam, Annika (1970-…), a Swedish golfer, ranks among the greatest players in the history of the sport. During the 1990’s, Sorenstam won 18 LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournaments, more than any other player on the tour. She won all four major tournaments on the LPGA tour—the United States Women’s Open in 1995, 1996, and 2006; the Kraft Nabisco Championship (now called the Chevron Championship) in 2001, 2002, and 2005; the LPGA Championship (now called the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) in 2003, 2004, and 2005; and the Women’s British Open in 2003. In 2001, Sorenstam tied an LPGA record by winning four consecutively scheduled tournaments. In the second of the four tournaments, she shot an 18-hole score of 59, the lowest ever by a woman in professional competition. In 2002, Sorenstam won 11 tournaments, the most in a single year by a professional woman golfer since 1964.
Sorenstam was born on Oct. 9, 1970, in Stockholm, Sweden. She began playing golf at the age of 12 and was a member of the Swedish national team from 1987 to 1992. Sorenstam was the world amateur champion in 1992. While attending the University of Arizona, she won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1991 and was runner-up in 1992.
Sorenstam turned professional in 1992 and competed on the Women Professional Golfers’ European Tour, where she was Rookie of the Year in 1993. She joined the LPGA tour in 1994 and was again Rookie of the Year. Sorenstam won the Athlete of the Year award in Sweden in 1995, the country’s highest sports award. She was named the LPGA Player of the Year in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2003, Sorenstam became the first woman golfer since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to play in a tournament on the men’s professional tour in the United States. She played the first two rounds of the Bank of America Colonial tournament but did not qualify to play in the final two rounds. She tied for 145th out of a field of 154. Charlotta Sorenstam, Annika’s sister, has also played on the LPGA tour.
Annika Sorenstam became a United States citizen in 2006. She retired from the LPGA tour at the end of the 2008 season. In 2021, she returned to playing professional golf. That same year, Sorenstam received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the president of the United States.
