Saying goodbye to a class act
Annika Sorenstam is one of my favorite professional athletes.
She is one of the greatest in her realm. A few years back, you could say she was more dominant than any other women's golfer ever had been. She never has been flashy, but she always is classy. So it was with admiration and some sadness that we saw her this afternoon annoucning she will retire at the end of the season.
It was a shocker, considering she had worked so hard to come back last year from a neck injury. She isn't No. 1 any more, not even close. Lorena Ochoa is as dominant as Annika was three years ago. Then again, Sorenstam did win the Michelob Ultra Open by seven shots Sunday, and Ochoa was in the field.
Maybe Sorenstam, 37, has just enough left to win one more major, make one more run at being No. 1. "I'm a huge competitor," she said at her news conference at Upper Montclair Country Club, site of the Sybase Classic this week. "I'm second on the money list and people who know me know I don't settle for second."
She used to happily settle for second. When she was a skinny kid, she used to three-putt on purpose so she would be the runnerup and not the winner. Why? The winner would have to make a speech. Her coach caught on and decided that the top two finishers would be speaking, so Sorenstam said she might as well aim for the top.
It was hard to imagine then that she could reflect so candidly the way she did today on her career, her life and her dreams (such as the second marriage set to start in January and, finally, the start of a family). It was hard to see her become such a physical force. She was at the forefront of the physical fitness movement on the LPGA Tour, becoming a rock of strength.
Her 72 career wins have her in sight of Kathy Whitworth's record of 88. Sorenstam said she doesn't care. She is proud of what she has done: 10 majors, a competitive round of 59, eight-time player of the year, six-time scoring average leader. She has even won three times in eight starts this season.
She was tough as nails when she had to be. Michelle Wie bailed out of the tournament Sorenstam hosted, citing an injury (but we skeptics believe it was because she was on the verge of a score so bad that it would have disqualified her for more tournaments later in the year). Sorenstam didn't let the then-phenom slide. She waited for an apology that never came and said Wie showed a lack of respect and class.
Sorenstam never lacks those qualities. Charisma might not be her strong suit, but she has respect and class to spare. Also guts.
Unlike Wie, who played in men's PGA Tour events as a marketing sideshow, Sorenstam played in the 2003 Colonial to see how she would fare in the crucible, to put herself on the anvil and become sharper. She handled herself magnificently, never had any inclination to do it again, and became a better player. Six of her 10 major titles occurrred after that week, in which she failed to make the cut.
I still have a copy of GolfWorld magazine from the following week, in which there was a two-page photo spread of Sorenstam walking to her final green (I kept it because I'm visible a few feet away, inside the ropes). Much more vivid was the memory of her first swing. Reporters got to the first tee an hour in advance to be able to get a spot to watch it. I'll never forget seeing how she was humble enough to exaggeratedly stumble off the tee as if she were having a breakdown. She also was good enough to stripe one right down the middle.
