Despite turmoil just blocks away at the United States Capitol Building on Wednesday, Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player were to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump on Thursday morning in the East Room of the White House. The closed ceremony was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET.
The ceremony was originally scheduled for March 23, 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Babe Didrikson Zaharias also received the award posthumously.
The three join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Charlie Sifford and Tiger Woods as the only golfers who have received the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The award is given to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Other notable recipients include Muhammad Ali, Nancy Reagan, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.
I can’t wait to head to the @WhiteHouse in a couple of weeks. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/cbwyOiPrAZ
— Annika Sorenstam (@ANNIKA59) March 7, 2020
Sorenstam is the only player in LPGA history to card a 59 and won 72 times on tour, including 10 major titles. The eight-time LPGA Player of the Year was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Player won 24 times on the PGA Tour, including nine major championships. The 85-year-old is one of just five players to win the career Grand Slam (Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Nicklaus and Woods).
Zaharias, a two-time gold medalist in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics, went on to play professional golf where she also won 10 major championships.