hr: Golfing

Online Special: Subscribe to hr: Luxury
4 Year Subscription US and Canada
Pay for 2 years and get hr: for 2 more years Free.
Save 50% off US newsstand price.
Subscribe Today!Annika was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 9, 1970.

In 1987, Annika joined the Swedish National Golf Team. She credits fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann’s win at the 1988 Women’s Open for heightening her interest in golf. She played in the World Amateur Golf Team Championships in 1990 and in 1992, when she won the Championship.

Annika also won the 1991 National Co-Player of the Year, 1992 Pac-10 Champion and was named to the 1991-1992 All-American team. In 1992, she was a runner-up for the National Player of the Year Award and also finished second to Vicki Goetze at the United States Women’s Amateur Golf Championship. The following year, Annika was invited to play in three LPGA events, finishing in the Top Ten in two events and earning over $47,000.

 In 1996, Annika again won three events, including the U.S. Women’s Open. She passed the $1 million mark in LPGA career earnings and won her second straight Vare Trophy for lowest season scoring average. 1997 brought six more LPGA victories, a homecoming win in a WPGET event in Sweden and a second Rolex Player of the Year Award. In 1998, Annika won four events, as well as her third Vare Trophy and third Rolex Player of the Year Award. She also became the first player in LPGA history to finish a season with a sub-70 scoring average (69.99).

That year she became the second player in LPGA history to win 11 tournaments in a season, and she set or tied 20 LPGA records. Her 11-stroke victory at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic tied an LPGA record for largest margin of victory in a 54-hole event. Including her victories on the Ladies European Tour, Annika won 13 events in only 25 starts.

Annika became the sixth player in LPGA history to complete the LPGA Career Grand Slam in 2003, after winning the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and the Weetabix Women’s British Open. She won five other events worldwide that year, set or tied 22 LPGA records, and received her sixth Rolex Player of the Year Award.