Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
Annika Sorenstam is a Swedish professional golfer and considered one of the best golfers of all time. She broke several records in her exceptional career. In the year 2001, Sorenstam broke 30 golf records alone.
See the fact file below for more information on the Annika Sorenstam or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Annika Sorenstam worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
BIOGRAPHY
- Annika Charlotta Sorenstam was born in Bro, Stockholm Country in Sweden, on October 9, 1970. She is a daughter to Tom Sorenstam, an executive at IBM, and Gunilla Sorenstam, both athletically inclined.
- Sorenstam’s parents also participated in several sports that include track and field, basketball, handball, and golf. Initially, Sorenstam enjoyed playing tennis. At the age of five, she started participating in competitions. However, as time went by, she felt burned out by the sport.
- At the age of twelve, Sorenstam started to play golf and found a deep fascination with the sport. She found herself more suited to playing golf than tennis. In 1987, Sorenstam joined the national golf team of Sweden when she was still a teenager.
- She trained under coach Pia Nilsson. Nilsson taught her players to have a “54-vision” in golf. This means that golfers should always think that is it possible for them to score a birdie or shoot a score one less stroke than a par, every hole of a golf course.
- As a child of a father who works for IBM, Sorenstam was also interested in computers. She combined her interests by keeping detailed statistics of her rounds in golf and examined them using charts and graphs created from her statistics.
- With these, Sorenstam can overview her performance, see her flaws easily, and improve them.
SORENSTAM BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL
- The University of Arizona offered an athletic scholarship to Sorenstam in 1990. In her freshman career, she was able to win the golf championship at the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA in 1991.
- However, after the 1992 college season, Sorenstam decided to quit school and become a professional. In 1993, Sorenstam joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association or LPGA Tour.
- By the end of the 1994 season, Sorenstam was able to finish in the top ten at LPGA events five times.
- In 1995, she got her first win ever on tour and at the U.S. Women’s Open. Afterward, Sorenstam became a golfer who seemed to be very much unstoppable.
- During the end of the 1996 season, Sorenstam achieved to win four more tournaments, two Vare Trophies, and the Player of the Year Award.
- However, Sorenstam’s dominance and excellent performance were slowly being challenged by Karrie Webb, who was a phenomenal young Australian player.
- Sorenstam continued to improve over the years. However, Webb had a better seasonal scoring than Sörenstam did in three years. Webb was named Player of the Year twice and was able to win seven tournaments to Sorenstam’s five in 2000.
- However, this did not stop Sorenstam; instead, Webb’s presence encouraged her to be a better player. In 2001, Sorenstam told Tom Spousta of Golf World that she wanted to reach her goals, and she has more desire now to play.
- Sorenstam dedicated her time to practicing, improving her putting, and increasing her strength. With this, Sorenstam added 15 yards to her drives.
SORENSTAM’S TWO HISTORIC SEASONS
- Sorenstam’s hard work showed in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. She became an exceptional, consistent golfing machine. In 2001, Sorenstam reclaimed the Vare Trophy with a 69.42 scoring average.
- In 2002, Sorenstam broke her record with a 68.70 scoring average. She was able to hit the fairway from the tee and green from the fairway 80 percent of the time. This made Sorenstam the most accurate golfer, male or female, in the world and history of golf.
- On the LPGA Tour at the Standard Register Ping in 2001, Sorenstam, armed with new strength and consistency, shot the best single round of golf ever by a woman. Sorenstam scored a 59, something that only six male golfers have ever done.
- If Sorenstam had not missed a 9-foot putt on the last hole, she could have achieved a score of 58; what no one on the PGA or LPGA Tour has ever scored. During that tour, Nilsson, Sorenstam’s coach, watched her former pupil put the “54-vision” in practice when she was just starting.
- In 2002, Sorenstam was able to tie another long-standing record by winning 13 tournaments in a single season. It was something that had been done only once by Mickey Wright.
SORENSTAM’S TWO HISTORIC SEASONS
- However, Sorenstam’s record was more impressive because she achieved 13 wins in only 25 tournaments versus Wright’s 33 in 1963. She added two more competitions to her schedule in October to give herself more chances of winning 13 tournaments.
- However, it still came down to ADT Championship, her last tournament of the year, where Sorenstam scored 13 under par.
SORENSTAM, INDUCTED TO THE HALL OF FAME
- Long before 2003, Sorenstam had already acquired all of the points she needed to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She just needed to complete ten seasons on the tour to be eligible.
- Sorenstam started her professional career in 1993, and finally, in 2003, she completed the ten seasons to be eligible in the induction.
- In 2003, Sorenstam won the LPGA Championship and the Women’s British Open, making her complete her career Grand Slam. In the same year, Sorenstam was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
- During that time, Sorenstam was not yet sure what she would do after. She stated to Michael Bamberger of the Sports Illustrated that she wanted to play 2004 season as a Hall of Famer. However, after that, she stated that she wants to be a mother and cannot devote herself to golf the way she needed.
LATER IN LIFE
- In 2006, Sorenstam was able to win the U.S. Women’s Open for her 10th career major title. However, after these, her play fell off, and she officially retired from playing competitive golf in 2008.
- After 13 years, Sorenstam played competitive golf when she joined the Gainbridge LPGA Tour in 2021. However, Sorenstam made it clear that it was not a comeback and it is just an appearance. In the same year, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Annika Sorenstam Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Annika Sorenstam across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Annika Sorenstam worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Annika Sorenstam who is a Swedish professional golfer and considered one of the best golfers of all time. She broke several records in her exceptional career. In the year 2001, Sorenstam broke 30 golf records alone.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Annika Sorenstam Facts
- Sorenstam: Profile Writing
- Timeline of Annika
- The Historical Seasons
- The Golf Equipment
- Jumbled Course
- Filling the Hole
- Match the Vocab
- Questions of Sorenstam
- The Unstoppable Golfer
- The Golfing Machine
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Annika Sorenstam Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 4, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.