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Annika Sorenstam may forever be remembered as the woman who made the controversial decision to play with the men on the PGA Tour. She prefers that the benefits from that experience be her legacy.
Sorenstam's victory Sunday at the Women's British Open was further proof that her ultimate goal has been accomplished.
She entered the year with just four major titles among 42 LPGA victories. After winning the U.S. Women's Open in '95 and '96, she went more than four years without capturing another major and admitted the pressure to perform in the most important and intense tournaments had affected her.
So she made it a point to perform better in the majors - and the men's Colonial was part of that plan. Now, for the first time, Sorenstam has won more than one major in a season. She also won the LPGA Championship two weeks after competing on the PGA Tour.
"There were several times out there on the course where I was thinking about Colonial," Sorenstam said after her victory at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in England. "And I kept telling myself: This is nothing like that. If you can go around that course with the pressure and shoot 1-over the first day, you can hit this shot."
That didn't work for Sorenstam last month at the U.S. Women's Open, where she failed to pull off a pressure shot on the 72nd hole, one that might have won the tournament or at least put her in a playoff. That's golf.
But at the British, there was Sorenstam, not dominating, but lurking. And letting others make mistakes. Se Ri Pak was tied with Sorenstam coming to the last hole, but drove into a fairway bunker and bogeyed. Sorenstam, thinking about trying to avoid the bunker with a fairway wood, instead blasted a driver past it into the middle of the fairway. She parred for the one-shot victory.
"This is what it's all about: to have a chance to win a major championship where you've just got to perform," Sorenstam said. "I'm nervous, but I love it at the same time. I was very nervous on the first tee and I was very nervous on the last three holes.
"It's funny how the emotions work, but I hit some great shots when I needed to, and when you think about that, that's all the hard work. That's why I hit balls at night, that's why I hit so many putts, that's why I go to the gym. To be in this situation, and then to win. That's what motivates me and keeps me going."
Sorenstam now has six major titles and 46 LPGA Tour victories.
CHRYSLER CHAMPIONSHIP: Tournament director Gerald Goodman has been getting a good response from players he is trying to recruit for the Oct. 30-Nov. 2 PGA Tour event at the Westin Innisbrook Resort. He is at the International this week, and has taken trips to the Buick Classic and Western Open to meet with players and agents in an effort to make them aware of the new tournament.
"For the most part, they are all really receptive," Goodman said. "Many of them know about the Copperhead (course) from the (old) JCPenney Classic or word of mouth. No one's been saying, "I'm not coming."'
Among the most high-profile commitments to date is one from Ernie Els, who asked Goodman to "make sure you get me all the good places to eat and things to do while I'm there."
The biggest question Goodman gets, of course, is about Tiger Woods. Is there any chance the world's No. 1 player will be here?
Woods played in the 1996 JCPenney Classic with Kelli Kuehne and lives just 90 minutes away in Orlando. Goodman visited with Woods at the Buick Classic and has been in touch with his agent, Mark Steinberg. He has his fingers crossed.
"It's on their radar screen, so that's not a no," Goodman said. "The fact that they're thinking about it is good. And I think they tell people if it's a definite no."
Some top European players will miss the tournament due to a contract with the Volvo Masters, the European version of the Tour Championship.
LOCALLY: Tampa's Ty Harris and two others qualified this week at Avila Golf & Country Club for the U.S. Amateur Aug. 18-14 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Michael Giammaresi and Michael Dunn of Tampa and Kevin Warrick of Valrico are alternates. ... The Back to School Junior Classic is Aug. 16-17 at Innisbrook. Age divisions are sixth through 12th grades. Call (727) 942-3737.