“I think history is important” - Annika Sorenstam emphasizes the significance of honoring LPGA Legends through event names
LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam believes it is important to name LPGA events after former players to preserve history and culture.
Sorenstam, the winningest player in golf history, is set to host The Annika from November 6 to 12 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair. While the PGA Tour has had a few tournaments named after players, this is the first time an LPGA Tour event has been named after a former player.
Speaking about the plans for the upcoming Tampa Bay event on Thursday, October 12, the 53-year-old golfer emphasized the importance of honoring more former players by naming events after them and hoped it would mark the beginning of a new culture.
She said, as per the Tampa Bay Times:
"I think history is important. I think preserving some of the culture is important. We have the Hall of Fame; we celebrate successes. A lot of these older, legendary players were inspirational to me."
"That’s an inspiration to everybody, and I think that if you keep the history and you keep living it and reminding people where it comes from, but then we can also be thinking about how can we take that and move forward. I think the PGA Tour does a really good job in that. And hopefully, the LPGA can do that, too."
After teeing off for the first round of the Shriners Children's Open on Thursday, Lexi Thompson became the seventh female player to compete on the PGA Tour. Sorenstam also had the experience of playing on the men's tour when she missed the cut by four strokes at the Colonial.
"That experience was so much more than the golf," she said. "When I look back at my career, I would say that that was one of my highlights, and it wasn’t necessarily my score."
Formerly known as the Pelican Women’s Championship, 'The Annika' will now benefit the Annika Foundation. The event will boast a purse size of $3.25 million and will showcase eight of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings.
How many majors has Annika Sorenstam won?
The 53-year-old Swede has won ten majors and is one of only seven female golfers to achieve a career Grand Slam. She won her first major in 1995 at the US Women's Open, defeating Meg Mallon by a single-stroke difference.
Sorenstam has won the Chevron Championships, Women's PGA Championship, and US Women's Open three times and claimed the Women's British Open in 2003 to complete the Grand Slam.
Here are all the major wins of Annika Sorenstam:
- Chevron Championship: 2001, 2002, 2005
- Women's PGA Championship: 2003, 2004, 2005
- US Women's Open: 1995, 1996, 2006
- Women's British Open: 2003
Overall, Sorenstam has won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, the most in Tour history. She has also secured victory 17 times on the European Tour, ranking fifth highest of all time. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and became the first international player to be inducted through the LPGA criteria.