Annika’s successful Buzz-building week comes ‘full circle’
Annika Sorenstam stood on the 18th green at Pelican Golf Club with a big smile on her face.
He has been smiling all week, given the success of his tournament. Caitlin Clark’s PRO-AM REMPUT and Kai Trump’s LPGA DUTE DURET brought buzz and attention to her competition, Annika, making it the most talked about LPGA event on the calendar.
“A lot of things just kind of lined up this week,” Sorenstam said Sunday. “Starting the day with a winner, the weather, the people, the efforts, the involvement, everything. All the various activities organized by the sponsors in the invitation, through Caitlin Clark.”
The week started with the Clark-Trump Buzz and ended on Sunday, with Sorenstam looking like a grown woman in Galof putting the finishing touches on the coercion.
Sweden’s Linn Grant, who played in Annika’s Cup as a child and made history when he beat men by nine weeks in the mixed category hosted by Sorenstam, completely dominated the week’s competition. The 26-year-old grant went 52 holes without giving up a shot on the last hole on Sunday, long after escaping his second LPGA title and since 2023.
“He made the course look easy,” Sorenstam said, telling Grant on the 18th green. “It’s not easy.”
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For a week all about the growth of the women’s game, Grant may have been the ultimate winner of the Sorenstam build-up event: a young, dangerous player with world-class talent who has the potential to rise.
“Golf is a bad game,” the golfer, who posted a 19-under par, said Sunday. “One day, you can win everything, and the next, you don’t believe in yourself at all. I think today was about winning for me, and with Annika and her event, I think she would have been sitting here. [Annika] And all the history that’s kind of, and with all the events that I’ve played – I think I’ve played in all of them [Annika] Events at all levels. It’s a full circle moment, personally and you’re sitting here with Annika. ”
“It’s all about Linn and what he did this week, and it’s great to be here with him and be happy for him,” Sorenstam said. “I think everyone who’s watched Linn grow up knows there’s a lot out there and he’s already won. …
Grant is the first Swedish winner of the event that started in 2020. He grew up taking photos of Sorenstam and remembers the legendary clinics that were held when he was a young golfer. The win meant a lot to Grant, who had struggled this season and battled golf doubts.
“I feel like golf and this lifestyle is always a rollercoaster of trying to figure out how to get better,” Grant said. “Sometimes it’s about taking a step back and maybe looking at yourself and how are you, am I happy?
Grant’s victory was the cherry on top of a week of LPGA wins. However, there were renewed questions to answer the tournament and the tour. Sorenstam was pleased with how his event was broken into a large audience, which saw Gantrant put Golf in the spotlight. He said he will rest his head easy on Sunday after a week that can only be described as a success. From social media acquisitions to Grant’s Win Win, Annika won the week and season of the LPGA.
But Sorenstam also knows that getting revenge this week, building on it and lifting players like Grant is the next step.
“How do we capitalize on this and how do we grow on this?” Sorenstam said. “I think what we’ve seen when someone like Caitlin Clark comes here, there’s more buzz. She brings more people to the event, more people watch.
“But I think the key for us is, we’re like, how do we do this more often?
As the LPGA and new Commissioner Craig Kessler search for ways to clear the obstacles in front of them, the Sunday Champion offers a guide to finding the easy way in Golf, business or traditional life, but by looking outside the box and carving your own path.
“As I have to change many things in my plans, things that I thought were good things to do because other people are doing them instead of thinking, what do I actually believe in?” Gantrant said that led back to the LPGA WINNER rally. “I think what would make a better person and a better player?”
Grant’s honest answers got him where he wanted to go. The LPGA must now find its own solutions to the big questions it faces.
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