Annika Sorenstam – Page 4 – Syndication Server

‘This is a dream-changer’: First-ever U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach set to feature Michelle Wie West, Annika Sorenstam and vast potential

It’s fitting that Michelle Wie West will take part in what could be the most important U.S. Women’s Open.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Michelle Wie West’s husband, Jonnie, tested positive for COVID-19 just a couple days before last year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Wie West tested negative for four days and felt it was somewhat of a miracle that she was able to compete at Pine Needles as she transitioned away from a competitive career on the LPGA, though it stung to be across the country from her husband, daughter and parents.

“I just remember sitting in my hotel room thinking, this is not the way to go,” said the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion. “This is so sad.”

The 78th U.S. Women’s Open, July 6-9 at Pebble Beach Golf Links, will provide the chance for Wie West to say a proper goodbye in her beloved Bay Area, with her husband on the bag and the rest of her family watching every shot. It’s fitting that the most well-known player in the women’s game in recent years will take part in what could be the most important championship in U.S. Women’s Open history.

On Tuesday, Wie West took part in Women’s Open media day, playing nine holes there for the first time in blustery conditions.

“I didn’t dream of this to be the last one,” she said, “but if I could this would be the way to go.”

Michelle Wie West at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open Preview Day in Pebble Beach, California, on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/USGA)

As Wie West got her first glimpse of the iconic course, Annika Sorenstam announced on Twitter that she had accepted a special exemption to compete at Pebble, making an historic week in the women’s game all the more special.

“I think this is a dream-changer,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan of the U.S. Women’s Open coming to Pebble Beach for the first time. “I think this really matters to the people playing, but the real impact of this is the girls that are thinking about playing or aren’t really sure what they think about golf.”

History won’t just be made on the course as the USGA announced record-breaking television coverage (26 hours) and live prime time network coverage over the weekend on NBC. In addition, the media and fans will be able to track every shot that’s hit at Pebble Beach as the USGA utilizes the PGA Tour’s ShotLink scoring system for the first time at a women’s event.

The message: This isn’t just a big week in women’s golf. It’s a big week in women’s sport.

Former U.S. soccer star Brandi Chastain and Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, who became the first Asian-American to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic competition in 1992, joined major champion Morgan Pressel on a panel to talk about the potential impact of the historic week. Pressel will be lead analyst for NBC.

Chastain became a household name in the U.S. after scoring the winning goal at the 1999 World Cup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Northern California native believes there are many things that could be taken from that history-making Cup, which broke records in attendance, television ratings and interest.

“I think No. 1 is the leadership that said we see what could be,” said Chastain, “and we must put it out there in a way that’s brave and bold.”

The Women’s Open at Pebble Beach could be a milestone for women’s sport, much like the Rose Bowl was in 1999.

The 54-year-old Chastain grew emotional when she talked about her personal connection to Pebble, where her grandfather took her out to watch the Crosby as an 8-year-old. They’d walk the course together and eat strawberry shortcake along the 18^th fairway.

“As I was sitting there listening to Mike (Whan),” said a teary-eyed Chastain, “I realized I would be bringing my two granddaughters, and we’re going to have the same walk.”

Wie West, who will have her daughter Makenna onsite, had originally planned to start grinding on her game in April, but got busy and now plans to start this month. Jonnie, who works for the Golden State Warriors and plays to about a 2-handicap, will caddie for her for the first time at Pebble, though he has looped at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am a couple times as well as a Web.com event for Steph Curry.

“I know I play my best golf when I have fun,” she said, “so having my husband on the bag is going to be key for that.”

Unforgettable, too.

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Annika Sorenstam accepts special exemption into 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach

Annika Sorenstam isn’t done with major championship golf just yet.

Annika Sorenstam isn’t done with major championship golf just yet. The 10-time major winner has accepted a special exemption into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Sorenstam, of course, played her way into last year’s Women’s Open at Pine Needles by crushing the field by eight strokes at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The 52-year-old shot 74-81 last year at Pine Needles, missing the cut in her first LPGA major since 2008.

This marks the first time Sorenstam – who is one of four players to win the U.S. Women’s Open three times (1995, 1996 and 2006) – has accepted an exemption into the championship. She has made 16 previous appearances. Only Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright, both four-time champions, have won more.

See you in July @uswomensopen! pic.twitter.com/r7Pixn6Mv1

— Annika Sorenstam (@ANNIKA59) May 2, 2023

Sorenstam won 72 times on the LPGA and stepped away from playing full time after the 2008 season to start her family. She competed in her first LPGA event in more than a dozen years in in 2021, making the cut at the Gainbridge LPGA event at her home club, Lake Nona.

This year’s historic U.S. Women’s Open will be contested July 6-9 and marks the first time the championship will be held at Pebble Beach.

“I am incredibly grateful to the USGA for the opportunity to play in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open,” Sorenstam said in a release. “It is a championship that has helped to define my career, and to play in the first one at Pebble Beach, which will be a defining moment for women’s golf, with my family by my side will be a week we never forget.”

Past champions Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr were the last players to receive a special exemption into the championship in 2021 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The most recent special exemptions before that went to two-time champion Karrie Webb, in 2018 and 2019. Amy Alcott’s sixth-place finish in 1994 at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion, Michigan, is the highest finish for anyone given a special exemption.

Michelle Wie West, winner of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, previously announced that this year’s championship will be the last competitive event on her calendar for the foreseeable future.

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Jack Nicklaus dishes on what Tiger Woods said about injured ankle at Champions Dinner, and Annika Sorenstam weighs in on Woods’ latest injury

Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam dish on admiration for Tiger Woods’ attempts to recover from surgery, return to competition.

Can all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put golf’s Humpty Dumpty back together again?

Tiger Woods is sidelined for an indefinite amount of time after undergoing surgery on his right ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis caused by injuries suffered in his single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021. Woods withdrew during the rain-delayed third round of this year’s Masters in April after showing considerable discomfort walking the hills of Augusta National in bad weather.

More: List of Tiger’s injuries through the years

Jack Nicklaus, whose record of 18 majors is looking more safe with every passing day and every injury Woods sustains, prefaced his comments about Woods during a press conference ahead of his appearance in the Greats of Golf exhibition Saturday during the Insperity Championship on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I don’t know a whole lot about what he’s been through,” Nicklaus began.

“He’s showed a lot of guts and courage to play and try to be part of what’s going on with the way he’s been,” he continued. “He’s actually swinging pretty well; he just can’t walk.”

These two 😍@jacknicklaus @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/lN0ftjGEOJ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 29, 2023

Nicklaus recounted how he sat next to Woods at the Champions Dinner at the Masters, as he does most years.

“We talk quite a bit,” Nicklaus said. “He said, ‘I’m really playing well. I’m hitting the ball great. My short game’s great. My putting’s good.’ He said, ‘I just can’t walk.’ And he says, ‘If it helps where I can walk, I’m willing to do it.’ ”

That’s about as good an explanation for why Woods agreed to go under the knife yet again as we’ve heard to date.

“He wouldn’t be having the operations if he wasn’t interested in wanting to continue to play,” Nicklaus said. “He’s a very motivated and dedicated young man to continue to play the game of golf.”

Nicklaus added of the 47-year-old golfer, whose body has been through the ringer: “The dedicated young doesn’t last very long.”

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Annika Sorenstam, winner of 72 LPGA titles, walked away from the game on her own terms and has returned to play a handful of celebrity events, last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won in 2021. She has a keen eye for Woods’ plight.

“I can just see it from a fan’s standpoint,” Sorenstam said. “I think he’s in more pain than he lets everybody know. I think it’s a lot more serious. But he is so tough. And so courageous.”

How long Woods will be sidelined this time is anyone’s guess, but his participation in this year’s remaining three majors – the PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June and British Open in July – seems unlikely.

“I think we’d all like to see him play,” Sorenstam said. “He adds so much to the game every time he tees up. Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways.

“But you don’t want to see anybody in pain. You don’t want to see anybody, they’re hurting. Especially in his case. So hopefully this surgery will be the last of it. And will be good for him. Who knows.”

At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again.

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‘Nobody enjoys it and it’s not fair’: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Annika Sorenstam address golf’s pace of play problem

“It’s not very pleasant to watch somebody stand over the ball for half an hour,” said Jack Nicklaus.

When Jack Nicklaus says slow play is a problem, you know the topic has officially jumped the shark.

Nicklaus was asked to opine on the pace of play of professional golf during a press conference on Saturday at The Woodlands in Houston ahead of competing in the Greats of Golf, a nine-hole exhibition played during the Insperity Championship on PGA Tour Champions.

“They do have a problem on the Tour today,” Nicklaus said. “The golf ball is a part of the problem. The longer the golf ball goes, the longer the courses get, the more you have to walk, the longer it’s going to take. I don’t think it’s good for the game. (The USGA and R&A have proposed) bringing the golf ball back (and reducing the distance it can travel). I think it’s a good start. It’s the first time they’ve done that in forever. We’ll see where it goes with that.

Nicklaus has long been a proponent of rolling back the golf ball but acknowledged that slow-play penalties are also overdue to be handed out.

“It’s got to be equitable,” Nicklaus added, “but they need to make an example and stay with it. It’s not very pleasant to watch somebody stand over the ball for half an hour.”

Slow play has made headlines recently after weather delays forced the Masters to go to threesomes and split tees in the final round and the glacial pace was exposed on TV. Brooks Koepka, who played in the final group, called out Patrick Cantlay, who also took his time on multiple occasions at the RBC Heritage the following week but pointed out that he was never put on the clock in either instances. Slow play has been a chronic problem in the game and rarely gets addressed in any meaningful way. But that wasn’t the case in Nicklaus’s rookie year.

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The Golden Bear always was a deliberate player but he learned early in his career that his pace of play was too slow. He was penalized two strokes during the second round at the 1962 Portland Open by PGA official Joe Black. Nicklaus still rolled to a six-stroke victory but he learned an important lesson that day.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Nicklaus said, noting that Black told him, “Jack, you can take as long as you want over the golf ball to play but be ready when it’s your turn.”

“I always tried to stay out of everybody’s way,” Nicklaus continued. “I didn’t want to bother anybody lining up my putt while they were lining up their putt so I stayed back. I didn’t want to start walking my yardages off. I took a while over the golf ball but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was being ready to play. I realized after playing on the Tour for a while that it’s also a courtesy to the field. It’s not fair to do that.”

Nicklaus also blamed caddies for being part of the problem.

“By the time they get through talking, I couldn’t hit a shot anyway,” he said. “It’s a problem.”

The Greats of Golf gathered on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at the Insperity Invitational and played a nine-hole exhibition. (Courtesy Insperity Invitational)

Gary Player echoed that sentiment. “It’s just not fair to the others to be taking the amount of time,” he said. “You are allocated a certain amount of time and you have to adhere to that or you should be penalized.”

Player noted that golfers have three practice rounds and then they spend too much time around the green doing Aim Point and studying their yardage books. “You didn’t see Bobby Locke, Ben Crenshaw or Tiger Woods doing that,” Player said.

“I read the green from 50 yards,” Lee Trevino added. “Keep staring at it while you’re walking you can see every curve on that green. Before you ever get there to read that putt you know exactly the direction it’s going.”

Annika Sorenstam said the problem with pace of play starts at the junior level.

“The juniors watch the pros and they see the Masters and see how much time the pros take and do the same thing,” she said. “I know the AJGA does a good job, but then they get to college and it all goes away and then they turn pro. I think it is a root problem from the beginning.

“Nobody enjoys it and it’s not fair. We’re running out of time, time is a precious commodity, right, so I think start at the very beginning and teach them to hit when you’re ready and go. The more we think, the more complicated it gets, right, so just hit and go.”

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‘How can we get involved?’: Greg Norman hints at growing interest for women’s LIV Golf League

“I have personally had discussions with individual LPGA Tour players … They love what our product is showcasing.”

On the eve of the first women’s major championship of the year in Texas, Greg Norman hinted at a growing interest in a women’s LIV Golf League while speaking ahead of the upstart circuit’s next event in Australia.

The CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf was asked about the future of LIV both from a men’s and women’s perspective and admitted there have been internal discussions “on a regular basis” about the latter.

“I have personally had discussions with individual LPGA Tour players, LET Tour players, Ladies European Tour. They love what our product is showcasing,” claimed Norman during a press conference at Grange Golf Club ahead of LIV Golf Adelaide. “They ask all the time, ‘How can we get involved? We’d love to see a LIV ladies series.’”

It’s important to note that while LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan has previously said she would meet with LIV Golf officials, there has been no public indication that meeting has taken place.

“We can only drink out of a fire hydrant so much, so we have a lot of opportunities and initiatives coming across our plate,” Norman explained. “Our focus is to make sure this year we produce what we’re producing (with the LIV Golf League) from day one, 2023, and then going forward we’re looking what are the best opportunities to build on to what we have today.”

Believe him or not, Norman has been adamant that his goal for LIV was to coexist within the golf ecosystem. For the sake of their tour, LPGA players past and present can only hope Norman is good on his word.

“I think if Norman does do this, it’s going to totally ruin the LPGA, because I think most of the girls would go, just because the money is a game-changer,” said 31-time LPGA winner Juli Inkster last August.

“If it’s the money that they have on the LIV, you know they’re going to crush the LPGA,” said 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam. “Hopefully they have the intention of growing the game and working together with the LPGA.”

Seven-time major winner Karrie Webb said she’d hold a grudge against players who doesn’t agree with her fellow Aussie Norman.

“If the LPGA were to suffer because a group of players went and started playing on a tour similar to (LIV) and the LPGA would suffer, I would hold that against them,” Webb said. “I know that (Greg Norman has) had this vendetta against the PGA Tour as long as I’ve known him, So I don’t think there would be any changing him. I would just ask him that in his ambition to succeed, that he doesn’t ruin women’s golf in the process.”

“I hope we survive it,” added former world No. 1 Stacy Lewis. “Should we talk to them? Absolutely. Ultimately, I think we have to find a way to co-exist.”

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for Saudi Arabia to sportswash its controversial human rights record. The Kingdom has been accused of politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

How can a women’s organization reconcile doing business with a regime that has such a horrendous record of human rights abuses, especially toward women?

“I think that’s maybe one of the reasons we should partner,” said Sorenstam, “to be able to make a difference.”

Contributing: Golfweek senior writer Beth Ann Nichols.

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Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam and 14 other legends highlight this year’s Folds of Honor event at The Woodlands

This is going to be fun.

If you’re looking to spend a day watching 16 legends of the game tee it up in the same event, you’re in luck.

This year’s Folds of Honor Greats of Golf exhibition at The Woodlands in Texas is loaded with some of the best players of all time. During the second round of the Insperity Invitational on the PGA Tour Champions, Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorentam, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and 12 others will play in a nine-hole four-team scramble.

“We feel very privileged to have the opportunity to bring the greatest names in the game of golf back to the Houston area thanks to the support of our new partner, Folds of Honor, during this milestone celebration for our tournament. This collection of legends are true ambassadors and role models in our sport,” said Bryan Naugle, Executive Director, Insperity Invitational, in a press release. “Not only is this a great group of golfers, they are incredible people and special role models for all of us. Reuniting these extraordinary ambassadors of our game has become a staple of tournament week. They provide hours of entertainment and a lifetime of memories for our fans each year.”

Team 1: Sorenstam, Nicklaus, Player, Trevino
Team 2: Pat Bradley, David Graham, Tony Jacklin, Tom Kite
Team 3: Nancy Lopez, Dave Stockton, Larry Nelson, Hale Irwin
Team 4: Juli Inkster, Ben Crenshaw, Bill Rodgers, Fuzzy Zoeller

In all, the group of 16 players accounts for 234 PGA Tour wins, 156 LPGA wins and 77 major championships. Thirteen of the participants are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The match is scheduled for April 29.

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Annika Sorenstam set to raise money for residents of East Palestine, Ohio, hometown of husband Mike McGee

“Mike and I wanted to do something to help his hometown during this time of need.”

Mike McGee gets a tear in his eye when he listens to country music these days because so many songs are a reminder of his idyllic childhood in East Palestine, Ohio.

“Everybody knew each other,” said McGee. “Backyard games every day, whatever sport was in season. We’d leave and go play all day and sleep over at each other’s houses.

“It was safe, and everybody looked out for each other.”

With a father who played on the PGA Tour, the McGees could’ve lived anywhere. But Jerry McGee always said coming in from the Pittsburgh airport that he felt a sense of calm when he drove into East Palestine, beloved hometown of his wife Jill, who grew up across the street from the middle school. Jill taught the gifted program and sponsored the drama club at the middle school for 20 years. It’s where the McGees raised their two children, Mike and Michelle.

Mike still can’t believe what’s happening to his small town, which had a population of less than 5,000 at the 2020 census. After a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine last month, residents now face a number of health and financial concerns.

“It’s shocking,” said Mike. “The big thing is the soil, and the water treatment.”

Mike McGee (left) with sister Michelle, mom Jill and father Jerry. (Courtesy photo)

Jerry McGee, a four-time winner on PGA Tour, died two years ago at age 77, about a month after he and Jill moved down to Florida to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

While the McGees are now gone from the area, many family friends remain.

“My mom has some friends she talks to and the world feels like it’s ending every day,” said Mike. “Others have the mindset of ‘We’re going to be fine.’ It’s really mixed depending on who you talk to.”

To help ease the financial burden so many now face, McGee and his wife, the legendary Annika Sorenstam, have partnered with Youngstown Mahoning Valley United Way, The Way Station and businessman Ed Muransky, owner of The Muransky Companies, to create “Annika Fore East Palestine.”

2022 U.S. Women's Open — Annika Sorenstam and her caddie/husband Mike McGee line up a putt on the 17th hole during the first round at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (Darren Carroll/USGA)

The national campaign will include a celebrity golf event hosted by Sorenstam and Muransky on May 15 at The Lake Club in Poland, Ohio. The course, which is about 15 minutes from East Palestine, is where McGee landed his first job as a bag boy.

“Mike and I wanted to do something to help his hometown during this time of need, and Ed was his first call. He’s very philanthropic and ran with the idea,” Sorenstam said.

“East Palestine is a close-knit community, and I enjoyed my many visits there over the years. We even had both of our kids baptized there, and held our receptions at the Lake Club afterwards, so this fundraiser brings us full circle.”

All the money raised will go to the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley fund earmarked for East Palestine support. Those interested in becoming involved are encouraged to visit AnnikaForeEastPalestine.com to donate, volunteer and learn more about the event.

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Meet the longest players in the women’s game over the past 20 years, including three former World No. 1s

Maria Fassi topped the list last year at 279 yards.

Maria Fassi topped the LPGA’s driving distance category last year with an average of nearly 280 yards. The year prior, Anne van Dam clocked in at 291 yards, a full six yards ahead of her nearest competitor.

As the women’s game gets longer, stronger and deeper with each passing year, it’s interesting to note that some of the most powerful players in the game also often happen to be ranked No. 1.

Conversely, there are a handful of names on this list that might be new to casual fans.

The LPGA tracks driving distance on two holes each week, and there are times when the holes selected are designed in such a way that promotes the longest players on tour to hit a fairway metal or hybrid. In other words, the numbers below could’ve been even higher.

Here’s a look at the biggest hitters on the LPGA over the past 20 years:

U.S. Women’s Open special exemptions are always coveted – especially at a place like Pebble Beach. See which players received one recently and who might in 2023

Entries open for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach next Wednesday.

Entries open for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach next Wednesday, which means the most highly-anticipated women’s golf event of the year is drawing near. Golf fans get to watch the men compete every year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as well as the occasional U.S. Open, but July 5-9 will be the first time the best females in the world take on the iconic course.

Once entries open, players also have the chance to apply for a special exemption. Those are few and far between, of course. Patty Berg received the first special exemption back in 1977, as well as ones in 1978 and 1979.

Juli Inkster is also a three-time recipient, landing special exemptions in 1983, 1994 and 2013. It’s doubtful that Inkster, a two-time USWO winner who hails from Northern California, would get a fourth exemption, but don’t be surprised to see the 62-year-old try to qualify.

Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr received special exemptions in 2021 at The Olympic Club. It would be surprising to see either player receive a second one.

Annika Sorenstam would be a no-brainer to receive a special exemption. The three-time USWO winner has never asked for a special exemption. She played last year at Pine Needles after earning her way in with victory at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

Sorenstam, of course, came up short at last year’s USSWO and said that she didn’t plan to play as much in 2023. She would have to officially request the exemption for Pebble (which the USGA would certainly green-light), but hasn’t yet decided.

Rose Zhang, a former U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is exempt into the USWO after winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal for top amateur a third time. However, should the Stanford player choose to turn professional after the NCAA Championship, she would no longer be exempt. Zhang could always go through qualifying, but it’s worth noting that Michelle Wie West received a special exemption both as an amateur and a young professional before joining the LPGA.

Inkster, a three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, also received her first special exemption shortly after turning professional as did two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (1993).

Laura Davies, 59, has expressed a desire to play at Pebble Beach, noting at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open that she might try to qualify. Davies, winner of the 1987 USWO and 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, received a special exemption in 2009. The first British player to win the championship, Davies’ victory caused the LPGA to change its constitution, giving her automatic membership.

Of course, special exemptions aren’t given out every year. From 2010 to 2012, no player received one. The same was true for 2022.

Here’s a list of of the players who received special exemptions from 2000 to 2021:

Pain-free, aggressive Brooke Henderson jumps out to four-stroke lead at LPGA TOC; Annika Sorenstam weighs in on her swing

After some time away from everything, Henderson began to strengthen her back and reports that it “feels really good right now.”

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ORLANDO, Florida – Brooke Henderson first started feeling pain in her upper back at the Aramco Series event in New York last October. It was a slow build-up, she said, until the pain reached its peak at the Pelican Women’s Championship in November, where she withdrew after the first round.

At the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, she manufactured a swing that got her through the tournament and, soon after, she had her wisdom teeth removed. Henderson, 25, does believe there might be a small connection between the two health concerns, though her oral surgeon didn’t seem to think so. After some time away from everything, she began to strengthen her back and reports that it “feels really good right now.”

She’s able to be aggressive again with her new bag of TaylorMade equipment, and she likes what she sees. Playing alongside the legendary Annika Sorentam for the first time, Henderson fired a 6-under 66 on Friday at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and jumped to a four-shot lead over Nelly Korda.

“I said ‘good shot’ many times,” said Sorenstam, who trails Mardy Fish by nine points in the tournament’s celebrity division, which uses a Stableford scoring format.

Henderson, the winningest Canadian golfer in history, got off to a scorching start, making four birdies in a row to begin her second round. She’s at 11 under for the tournament. England’s Charley Hull and Wei-Ling Hsu are five shots back at 6 under. Defending champion Danielle Kang trails by seven.

Henderson, a longtime Ping player, switched to TaylorMade equipment this season after using the TP5x golf ball last year.

“I feel like a lot of things have been working really well, especially the wedges,” she said. “Feels really nice to be able to feel aggressive, and they’re holding really well, which is sort of a new thing for me.

“On No. 2, I was able to spin it back, which is also a great feeling.”

Last year, Henderson lost a good deal of distance with her driver after the LPGA chose to implement the USGA’s new Model Local Rule, which forced her to switch from a 48-inch driver to one that’s 46 inches.

Henderson, a 12-time winner on the LPGA had used a 48-inch driver for her entire career on tour. Known for her aggressive style, power and the way she chokes down on her clubs, Henderson finished ninth on tour in driving distance in 2021 with an average of 274 yards. Last year she dropped to 25th on the list, averaging 267 yards.

The new TaylorMade ball and Stealth 2 Plus 9-degree driver, she said, have helped her get some of it back.

2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions — Annika Sörenstam of Sweden looks on after her shot on the 18th tee during the second round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on January 20, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Sorenstam was asked to weigh in on the length of Henderson’s swing after their first round together.

“I know she has this little drop-kick,” said Sorenstam, “but she hits it out there. She gets some good distance, some good carry.

“A lot of times when we look at people and people say, ‘Hey, give me swing advice.’ If she wasn’t a professional, we probably would tell somebody, ‘Hey, shorten your swing a little bit.’ But somebody like that, you just don’t want to touch it. She’s got good feel and good touch and she hits it a long ways, so it works perfectly for her.”

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