Annika Soremstam Playing Pebble Beach Invitational This Weekend

I've often said that golf is only world-wide sport whose season doesn't ever really end -- that's there's always an event  going on somewhere where the some of the best players in the world are teeing it up for big money, huge trophies and of course all of the adulation that goes along with being one of the elite of the game.  While the PGA and Nationwide Tours for men in America have wound down, the LPGA has one more event to play -- its Tour Championship in Orlando in two weeks -- and the European Tour has to drive the last miles of its Road to Dubai  The LET is still active as well, and of course, many of the Tours qualifying schools are under way.  All this said, there's still a feast of golf that can and will affect the world rankings coming up soon, and for the fans, there will be a great deal to watch.

It wasn't always like that in the US. In the days before the proliferation of cable sports programming, overseas golf was a rarely seen rumor, and once the PGA Tour finished, its off-season was marked by several popular "Silly Season" events -- The Skins Game, for example -- where popular top golfers could show up for a low-pressure, fun event that would provide plenty of entertainment for fans and good ratings for the TV networks as well.  The idea of the Silly Season almost seems quaint in today's world of golf, one where many Tour's season breaks can be counted more easily in days than weeks, but it still chugs along, and it still has plenty to offer.  This weekend's event, The Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational, is one of the granddaddies of the Silly Season Tour, and in it, we'll see the rare site of Annika Soremstam teeing it up in competition.

Soremstam, now 40, and retired since 2008, rarely plays in a pro event anymore.  She's remarried, she has a young child, and has focus far away from rigor of competitive professional golf. 

"I don't practice anymore," she says.  She added that "One more major or one more win is not going to change my life. Instead of spending all those hours on the range or in the gym, I wanted to do everything. I want to explore other passions I have." 

Some of those passions have included working on the effort to bring golf back to the Olympics, working on her clothing design lines - something she is personally involved with, rather than simply lending her famous name for a fee, designing golf courses, her golf academy, vineyards and of course, serving on the LPGA's Board of Directors.  So while she may not be stalking the fairways in search of wins, it's also very fair to say that Soremstam is still closely involved with the game.

She says that she's realistic about her chances this weekend -- saying that since she rarely practices any more, that it will be very difficult to beat players who are still playing week in and week out on the pro tours. She plans to compete, however, and these days, Annika Soremstam in battle on a golf course is a rare and welcome sight...even if it only a Silly Season event where she's on the course mainly as a way to say thanks to a long-time sponsor rather than trying to make a point about herself or her game.