Annika Sorenstam to Play in U.S. Women’s Open
Golf legend Annika Sorenstam will be playing in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open this June at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina.
This is the first time the three-time champ is playing in the tournament since 2008.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to play in a U.S. Women’s Open again, especially with it being held at Pine Needles. I really never thought I would play in another one, but everything just sort of fell into place. Teeing it up in the greatest championship in women’s golf, at a venue that has so many incredible memories for me, and to be able to do so with my family means a lot to us. I’m sure Peggy Kirk Bell [World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and longtime Pine Needles owner] is looking down and smiling at how this all came together,” said Sorenstam in a statement.
Sorenstam, now 51, earned a spot int he tournament by winning the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open last August at Brooklawn Country Club in Connecticut.
The U.S. Women’s Open is set to take place from June 2-5.
Sorenstam’s Legendary Career
Sorenstam’s celebrated career includes 72 LPGA Tour titles, 10 major championship wins and eight LPGA Tour Player of the Year honors. Her professional career was jump-started by a come-from-behind, one-stroke victory in the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor.
A year later, she successfully defended her title at Pine Needles with a six-stroke victory. Ten years later, her third U.S. Women’s Open win and final major title came in an 18-hole Monday playoff over Pat Hurst in 2006 at Newport Country Club.
The 2003 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee was elected president of the International Golf Federation in 2020.
Sorenstam was the recipient of the 2012 Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor, which recognizes an individual who demonstrates spirit, personal character and respect for the game. Her time in recent years has been spent raising her two children, Ava and Will, with husband Mike McGee and participating in a variety of ventures to grow the game through her Annika Foundation.