Sorenstam shocks golf by announcing retirement
by BETH ANN BALDRY, Golfweek.com
Golfweek.com
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Did you hear the news? Annika is retiring at the end of this season.
"What? I'm shocked," Pettersen said. "That means I'm not going to pair with her in the Solheim again."
Like the rest of us, Pettersen knew it was coming. Annika Sorenstam has talked about the "back nine" of her career for quite some time now. But the announcement to retire came just two days after a seven-stroke victory. The timing caught everyone off guard.
She's back. But not for long.
"I just texted her after she won on Sunday and said 'I'm so glad that you're playing really solid golf again,'" said Pettersen, of her victory at the Michelob Ultra Open. "It's been a long time since she's played that well."
Unlike most of the LPGA, Pettersen isn't in the field at this week's Sybase Classic, where Sorenstam made her announcement to "step away from the game" at the end of 2008. Pettersen played the first two rounds at Kingsmill last week with Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. She witnessed first-hand the rise Sorenstam's game has taken in the last several weeks. Her iron shots are once again superb, her short game practically flawless.
Annika Sorenstam: Bio
Age: 37
Career LPGA events: 293
Major wins: 10
Career LPGA wins: 72
Career top 10s: 206
Career prize money: Over $22 million
AP Female Athlete of the Year: 2003-05
LPGA Tour Player of the Year: 1995, 1997-98, 2001-05
World Golf Hall of Fame: Elected 2003
"I have come back from an injury, and I feel strong, I feel healthy," Sorenstam said. "The season has started really well, and I'm leaving the game on my terms."
Not many athletes walk away with so much game left in them. From a numbers standpoint, it will be tough for Sorenstam to overtake Lorena Ochoa this season in the world rankings. But with three victories so far this year to Ochoa's five, Sorenstam has a legitimate chance at earning Player of the Year honors, a feat she's already accomplished eight times.
Even if that happens, even if Sorenstam tops the money list this season and walks away from the ADT Championship with a $1 million check, she won't change her mind. Awards and statistics are no longer enough to motivate her. Sorenstam will push as hard as ever to go out on top this season, but nothing that happens over the next seven months will convince her to come back in 2009.
Sorenstam is getting married in January. The 37-year-old wants to start a family, wants to focus on building the Annika brand. Sorenstam knows the focus and commitment it takes to dominate women's golf. And she's ready to move on.
Pia Nilsson got the call two weeks ago. As a longtime mentor of Sorenstam's, Nilsson has been listening to Sorenstam talk about retirement for a while now. During this particular conversation, however, the decision was very clear in Sorenstam's mind. It was time.
Two wins later, Sorenstam didn't budge. Don't expect her to waiver anytime next year either, when major season rolls around.
"Other players are OK with playing a limited schedule, and they're OK with not having practiced as much and still playing while not at the top of their games," Nilsson said. "But the way Annika works she wants to be on top. It's a very Annika decision, very good for her."
Most of the talk so far this season has centered around Ochoa. Will she win five consecutive events? Will she win the Grand Slam? Tuesday morning Ochoa rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange but nobody heard. The golf world was too busy trying to adjust its calendar to accommodate a Sorenstam swan song.
Now every week will focus on saying farewell to one of the greatest the game has ever seen.
"I wanted to leave on my terms when it felt right," Sorenstam said. "I didn't want an injury to take me away from this game. Now I feel at peace."
While American players were looking up to Juli Inkster, Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel, Pettersen paid close attention to Sorenstam, her Scandinavian neighbor. They would become a potent pair on European Solheim Cup teams. Pettersen matured in the game working alongside Sorenstam in those heated battles, and she developed a deep respect for a woman who broke down so many barriers in the game.
During the 2007 Solheim Cup, Sorenstam hinted at team meetings that Halmstad might be her last Cup. Pettersen knew this time was coming. But, like most of us, there still was that element of surprise. And even sadness.
"She's done everything for women's golf and she's achieved more than anyone in her period of time," Pettersen said. "For her, she can stop and be very proud of what she's done. She has nothing more to prove to herself or to anyone else."
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