Fighting Father Time, Sorenstam Hangs In At The End


By Dave Shedloski

Newport, R.I. – She’s been in 19 playoffs in her career, winning 14 of them, but she’s never been in one like this, not this kind of simmering cauldron, never one to decide a major championship over 18 holes.

Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 player in the world, finds herself No. 1 with an asterisk after 72 holes in the U.S. Women’s Open. It will take one more day to see if she changes it to an exclamation point or a question mark.

Annika Sorenstam plays her second shot on the 10th hole, with the clubhouse behind her, during the fourth round of the 2006 U.S. Women's Open Championship held at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, Sunday, July 2, 2006. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)

Recovering from a dreadful stretch of mistake-filled golf in the middle of her round, Sorenstam gathered herself late Sunday for an even-par 71 at Newport Country Club to tie Pat Hurst at the end of regulation in the 61st Women’s Open. Winner of 67 LPGA titles, including nine majors, Sorenstam, the most dominant player of the last decade in women’s golf, appears to be the overwhelming favorite when the playoff commences at 9 a.m. Monday.

Hurst, who converted a gutsy 5-foot par save to cap off a 2-under 69 at the end of a marathon 36-hole day, has four victories and one major to her credit against the mountainous Sorenstam legacy. So what? The pair begin on equal footing Monday after completing 72 holes in level par 284.

"I’m very happy with the way I played," said Sorenstam, 35, who nearly won in regulation but watched her 22-foot birdie bid on the final green glance off the right edge of the hole. "When I look at the whole day and 36 holes, I gave it my all."

And yet here she is, not yet clutching the trophy, trying hard to shade the picture in the brightest colors. The driven Swede, who can become just the 12th U.S. Women’s Open champion over the age of 35, has had an odd love-hate relationship with this championship, the love coming in 1995 when she claimed her first LPGA title followed by a successful defense in ’96.

Since then, however, the magic she has applied so ably all over the world – and so superbly last year in winning 10 of 20 tournaments – has since left her in this national championship (and hasn’t been seen much in 2006, either). She finished 16th or better from 2000-04, including twice runner-up, but has hit uncharacteristically poor shots in clutch situations. Last year at Cherry Hills, going for the third leg of the women’s Grand Slam, Sorenstam wilted to a tie for 23rd.

"It’s always tough when you want something so bad," she said earlier in the week.

For a while Sunday it seemed the burden had taken her out of contention again. Sorenstam missed just one fairway on the front nine in the final round, but covered it in 37 strokes. From the middle of the fairway at the seventh she pulled a 9-iron into a greenside hazard and made double bogey. She followed with bogeys at 8 and 9, also from the fairway.

She fell two behind Hurst. Having struggled much of the year, winning just once and her enormous skills seemingly hitting a plateau, Sorenstam appeared in real trouble. Then she birdied the par-5 10th. She added 15-foot birdie putts at 15 and 16. Somehow, she had clawed her way back into the lead.

"I knew she was going to hang in there. She’s still good enough out there," said reigning McDonald’s LPGA champion Se Ri Pak, who ended up in a three-way tie for third two strokes back.

"I was just excited to be in the position I was in," said Sorenstam of her thought process as she mulled her downturn at the turn. She lectured herself. "I came here to play, and I’m right where I want to be. Let’s do something about it. I guess I was playing with my heart. This is what I wanted to do, and it happened."

But the euphoria didn’t last. That’s the way it’s been for Sorenstam in this championship. A 6-iron to the par-3 17th took a nasty and enthusiastic hop over the green, and although she pitched back to the hole bravely, 7 feet remained for a par. She didn’t even look up when she struck the putt; she simply cringed when she heard the crowd groan.

In the span of a few hours after three-plus rounds and three grueling days, Sorenstam had this U.S. Open won, then lost, then won, only to leave the outcome in doubt until Monday.

"Of course I wish I could have finished it off," she said. "It’s easy to sit here and say what I should have done and could have done. You know, it’s been a long day. I’m happy the way things turned out. I gave it all and so did Pat. I think by the end of the day it’s the results that matter. It’s what you produce; it’s not what you did for a few holes."

Now, Sorenstam has to produce again Monday, the way everyone expects the best player in the world to produce. She’s the favorite, but she’s also the bull’s-eye. It’s not a comfortable position to be in, even if she is still alive for her third Open title.

"I am determined. I have a strong mind and a strong will," Sorenstam said. "You know, this means a lot to me. I’m going to try to do the best I can. I just can’t get in my own way. I’ve just got to play."

And she’s got to end the questions.

Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, whose work has appeared previously on www.uswomensopen.com.