Arizona Wildcats: Top 30 athletes in school history
Wildcats fans may not be aware that world-famed professional LPGA golfer Annika Sörenstam is an Arizona Wildcats alumni.
Originally from a town outside of Stockholm, Sweden, Sörenstam was noticed by a coach in Tokyo while playing in a collegiate event. She then moved to the US to play for the Arizona Wildcats women’s golf team. She played for Arizona for two years and turned pro in 1992.
While at Arizona Sörenstam won seven collegiate titles. In 1991, she became the first freshman who wasn’t an American to win the individual NCAA Division I Championship.
Sörenstam, who retired in 2008, is accredited with the most wins in the LGPA, as well as earning a total of $22,573,192 in winnings throughout her career. She has won a total of eight ESPY awards including Best Female Golfer and Best Female Athlete as well as awarded the LPGA Tour Player of the Year eight times.
Here are some of Annika’s other career highlights from her website AnnikaSorenstam.com to soak in:
- Total Career Wins: 89
- LPGA Career Wins: 72
- Majors Wins: 10
- Rolex Player of the Year Awards: 8 (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Vare Trophy wins (for LPGA player with the lowest scoring average for the year): 6 (1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005)
- WPGET Rookie of the Year: 1993
- Rolex Rookie of the Year: 1994
- Patty Berg Award (for contributions to women’s golf): 2003
- Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year awards: 8 (1995, 1997, 2000-2005)
- European Player of the Year awards: 2 (2004, 2005)
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year awards: 3 (2003-2005)
- Lowest score by any female in a single round: 59 (Second round of the 2001 Standard Register PING tournament.)
- Lowest scoring average for one season: 68.69 (2004)
- Named United States Golf Ambassador (2008)
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