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Open Thread: Annika Sorenstam

The greatest female golfer of all-time. I hate that she's leaving the LPGA Tour at such a great - and important - time in the tour's history. But my admiration for her is immense, and my respect for her decision complete. I wish her a blissfully happy marriage that includes several healthy children. I don't need to wish a healthy future for her growing golf empire, because with Annika in charge, that's a foregone conclusion. She's a winner, in every respect.

Can anyone else see Tiger doing something like this? I can. But with one difference: Woods would wait until he's broken Nicklaus' and Snead's records before walking away.

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You say Tiger
would only do this after breaking all the records.  What is the record for the ladies?  Has Annika not passed it?

|also, she is the only reason I ever tuned in to watch women's golf.

by WCG on May 13, 2008 4:18 PM EDT   0 recs

Records
Annika has 72 wins, the LPGA record is 88 by Kathy Whitworth. Annika has 10 majors, the LPGA record is 15 by Patty Berg.

by Mulligan Stu on May 13, 2008 4:21 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Wow
What a bombshell. I know she's hinted many times that she would eventually walk away and focus on other things. But you always think of something like that as off in the future a bit ... when something this big actually happens, it's a shocker. And it's also very, very unusual for any athlete at the top of their game to just walk away. Wow.

by bogeymcduff on May 13, 2008 4:20 PM EDT   0 recs

at Annika's blog...
...one of the most interesting comments I saw was a comparison to Steffi Graf's retirement in 1999.  But after reading an old SI piece on her announcement

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/1999/08/13/graf_retires_ap/index.html

it seems to me that Annika's approach makes more sense, not least because it allows her fans to appreciate her going out playing her best the rest of the season, makes every remaining tournament that much more special, and adds even more significance to the Player of the Year race.

I have to admit I'm still shocked and disappointed--I thought she might scale back next year (and get pregnant), take a year off to enjoy quality time with the baby, and come back the following year on a limited schedule--but maybe the effort of this recovery and comeback made her wonder how motivated she would be to come back from pregnancy and birth and sleep deficits afterwards?  (Come to think of it, there's no way she's pregnant now, is there?  Strike that!)

As a fan, I'm still hoping she misses the competition in a few years and starts a comeback, but as a relatively new parent, I can respect her decision to do as close to a full-time parenting thing as she can when the time comes (whenever that is).

by The Constructivist on May 13, 2008 4:44 PM EDT   0 recs

Steffi Graf ?
I'll be hoping for something more like John Elway - winning the Superbowl, then riding off into the sunset.

If she finds a way to overtake Ochoa - at least this year - then she goes out on top - legend intact or even bigger...though it would be a real shame to win 10 tournaments and stop short of breaking the all time record of 88.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 14, 2008 12:19 AM EDT   0 recs

the Vare is the one that interests me
I know Annika repeats over and over that she's not motivated by records and stats, but....  I forgot that she had a sub-69 scoring average for one of her Vare Trophy wins.  With Lorena in that territory and Annika heading in that direction, I'm sure she'd love to beat her own record in her final year on tour (and make it harder to be erased than the current one).  As Hound Dog points out, winning the Vare would tie her with Whitworth for the most in LPGA history.

But I think what would be more memorable for her would be repeated showdowns with Lorena when they're both in the zone--and anyone else who could elevate their games to try to keep pace with Annika at her best.  As a fan, that's exactly what I'd like to see, too!

by The Constructivist on May 14, 2008 3:50 AM EDT   0 recs

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