Sorenstam Shoots LPGA Record 59

P H O E N I X, March 16, 2001 -- Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to shoota 59 in an LPGA tournament, breaking the previous record by twostrokes.

The day after saying she goes for a birdie on every hole,Sorenstam almost did it — shooting 13-under-par today in thesecond round of the Standard Register Ping.

"It was an incredible day, obviously," Sorenstam said. "I hada lot of thoughts in my head. I was trying to stay calm and hitgood shots, trying to hit it straight every time."The round included 13 birdies and no errors.

"You can use all the words you want — impressive, simple,"playing partner Meg Mallon said. "She had two tap-ins and one puttfrom about 6 feet. The rest were 10 to 25 feet. She put on aputting display, especially on the front side. She hit the rightshots. It was the kind of round everyone dreams of playing."

The 30-year-old Sorenstam broke every LPGA scoring record forone or two rounds.

Shares PGA Tour Record

Her 59 was two shots better than the old 18-hole record of 61she shared with Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak, and her 20-under 124 atthe midpoint was three strokes better than the 17-under Webb shotat East Lansing, Mich., last year.

Pak's low round was on a par-71 course, while Webb and Sorenstamshot their 61s on par-72s.

The PGA Tour record also is 59, shared by Al Geiberger, DavidDuval and Chip Beck.

Sorenstam, who earned $1.4 million and won five titles last yearto Webb's $1.88 million and seven championships, has made no secretof her intention to overtake Webb as No. 1 on the LPGA Tour.

She is certainly outplaying the Australian star this year.

Sorenstam began a rigorous offseason training program, and ithas paid off — she was second in her first two events and won lastweek in Tucson, setting a tournament record there with a 23-underfor 72 holes and moving to No. 1 on the money list.

"She's playing better than ever, because she's practicing moreand she's in the best shape of her life," her father, TomSorenstam, said. "She's motivated, not just by Karrie. By the restof the tour. She wants to be the best."

Birdied First Four Holes

Sorenstam began the round with eight consecutive birdies —second-best in LPGA history behind the nine in a row Beth Danielhad during a tournament in 1999.

After the turn, she birdied the first four holes of the backnine, dropping to 19-under.

As Sorenstam made her way down the stretch, the golf courseemptied behind her and the applause from a Sunday-size gallery grewlouder as fans left their greenside spots to watch history in themaking.

They saw it on the 17th hole, a 476-yard par-5. Sorenstam, whoonly missed one fairway all afternoon, drove down the middle andreached the green on the fly with a long iron.

Faced with a 20-foot eagle putt that would have to roll througha swale, she paced off the distance, fidgeted, stood over the ball,took one step back then ran the putt within 8 inches for birdie. Asshe pulled the putter back, the quiet around the green was so deepthe only audible sound was a dove cooing in a tree — a contrast tothe applause after she made her second putt.

Sorenstam's approach shot on the last hole landed and dug inabout 10 feet above the hole.

She two-putted, again with a tap-in, turned and leaped into thearms of caddie Terry McNamara — the first of a series ofcelebrations.