Annika’s successful sensational week ends with ‘Full Circle’ winner

Annika Sorenstam stood beside the 18th green at Pelican Golf Club with a big smile on her face.

Given the success of the competition, she was smiling all week. Caitlin Clark’s return to the Pro-Am and Kai Trump’s LPGA debut brought buzz and attention to her Annika Championship, making it the most watched LPGA event on the calendar.

“A lot of things came together perfectly this week,” Sorenstam said Sunday. “Start the day off with everything from winners, weather, people, initiatives, participation and more. All the different events were planned with the invitation of sponsor Caitlin Clark.”

The week began with Clark’s heated exchanges with Trump and ended Sunday with Sorenstam watching as a woman who grew up playing golf put the finishing touches to a graceful, effortless victory.

Sweden’s Linn Grant, who competed in the Annika Cup as a youngster, made history by beating the men’s team by nine strokes in the mixed event hosted by Sorenstam, taking complete control of the week’s action. The 26-year-old Grant played 52 holes without a bogey before finally posting a shot on the final hole on Sunday to move past Jennifer Kupcho to win her second LPGA title and first since 2023.

“You make this course look easy,” Sorenstam told Grant on the 18th green. “It’s not easy.”

In a week focused on developing the women’s game, Grant might be the perfect winner for Sorenstam’s blockbuster event: a young, charismatic player with world-class talent and the potential to improve.

“Golf is such a vicious game,” said Grant, who shot a winning score of 19 under on Sunday. “One day you can win everything and the next day you don’t believe in yourself at all. I think today was just a win for me and for Annika and her event, I think it was probably a win for little me. It’s very interesting to sit here with me. [Annika] And all the history that we have, and all the events that I’ve been to – I think I’ve been to all the events [Annika] Activities at all levels. It was a truly complete moment, both for me personally and sitting down with Annika. ”

“It’s all about Lynn and what she’s done this week, and it’s exciting to sit with her and be happy for her,” Sorenstam said. “I think everyone who has watched Lynn grow up knows she has a lot of potential, and she’s won…it’s tough out here, so you have to cherish every win.”

Grant is the first Swedish champion of the event, which started in 2020. She grew up idolizing Sorenstam and remembers attending one of the legend’s chipping clinics when she was a young golfer. The win has deeper meaning for Grant, who has struggled this season and battled golf doubts.

“I love playing golf and this lifestyle is always a rollercoaster of trying to figure out how to get better,” Grant said. “Sometimes we need to step back and look at ourselves and ask ourselves, am I happy? Are the decisions I’m making making me happy? Sometimes that’s what makes golf easier. You have to be strong and confident in those decisions to be able to say, maybe I’m not playing this week because I’m not feeling it because it’s not going to make me happy, or just change your plans or change the way you do things for yourself to stay true to yourself.”

Grant’s victory was the icing on the cake of a winning week on the LPGA. However, it also raises difficult questions for event organizers and tours. Sorenstam was pleased that her event attracted a wider audience, and Grant put in a stellar display of golf during the event. She said she would take Sunday off after a successful week. From social media impressions to Grant’s crushing win, Annika is winning this week and the LPGA season.

But Sorenstam also knows that the next step is to replicate what happened this week and build on it to improve players like Grant.

“How do we leverage this and how do we build on this?” Sorenstam said. “I think what we’re seeing is when someone like Caitlin Clark comes here, it creates an extra buzz. She gets more people involved in the event and gets more people watching.

“But I think the key for us is, how do we do this more often? How do we go from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday? The players can only do so much. The interest is there. Those are questions that are definitely on the table. We don’t necessarily have the answers, but we’d love to continue.”

As the LPGA and new commissioner Craig Kessler look for ways to clear the obstacles ahead, Sunday’s winner offers clues for finding a path forward: The surest way to get to your desired destination in golf, business or life is not to do the easy or conventional things, but to think outside the box and forge your own path.

“Like I had to change a lot of things in my day-to-day life that I thought were worthwhile things to do because other people were doing them, rather than thinking, what do I really believe in?” Grant said of what brought her back to the LPGA winner’s circle. “What do I think makes me a better person and a better player?”

Grant’s honest answers led her to where she wanted to be. The LPGA must now find its own solutions to the significant problems it faces.

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