U.S. Women’s Open: Annika Sorenstam on how her game has changed since she won at Pine Needles in 1996, and what’s required of her now

SOUTHERN PINES, North Carolina – On the 15th hole at Pine Needles Tuesday afternoon, Annika Sorenstam hit a good shot and whispered to her husband that her body had started to stiffen up.

Moments later, playing partner Megan Khang, 24, ripped a shot and announced that she was finally starting to feel loose. Sorenstam laughed.

“Here we go,” she said.

At age 51, Sorenstam is twice the average age of the field at the 77th U.S. Women’s Open. She’s the only one of the 156 players who competed in all three previous Women’s Opens held here. Sorenstam, of course, won the first one in 1996 by six strokes over American Kris Tschetter. Karrie Webb (2001) and Cristie Kerr (2007) won the other two. Pine Needles is the first course to host four Women’s Opens.

Now, the 10-time major winner is back in an LPGA major for the first time in 13 years. Lydia Ko lives near Sorenstam at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida, and got an inside glimpse at how hard the LPGA Hall of Famer has been grinding on the range.

“My coach Henri (Reis) came to town last week and wanted to fine-tune it a little bit,” said Sorenstam. “I know to play well here I have to really max out my game.”

Sorenstam earned an exemption into the field by winning the U.S. Senior Women’s Open last year in her championship debut. To prepare for this week’s event, she moved back to the blue tees at Nona. The official yardage this week is around 600 yards longer than the setup was for last year’s Senior Women’s Open at Brooklawn Country Club.

In 1996, Sorenstam shot 70-67-69-66 to finish 8 under for the championship at Pine Needles, which has undergone a restoration since it last held a U.S. Women’s Open.

“I was in the zone that week,” she said. “It’s great to be in the zone, but then I don’t really remember – I was in a different zone. So now it’s like, OK, what was I really thinking? I have to kind of create that again.”

When asked about her expectations this time around, Sorenstam said she knows what she’s capable of. That she can hit fairways and greens and make putts.

“Obviously, I’m in a different position now than in ’96, where I was probably one of the longest off the tees and would hit last into the greens,” she said. “Now it’s the reverse.”

It’s a similar feeling to what she experienced when she played on the PGA Tour at Colonial.

“I think this course is quite generous off the tee,” she said, “and it’s more around the greens being precise with your irons. I’m not really going to have a score in mind, but I feel good about my game. I really do.”

The 2017 Kyle Franz restoration of the Donald Ross design saw the removal of 11 acres of rough. There’s trouble in the form of wiregrass and sandscapes, but most of the headaches will come from around the greens, which Morgan Pressel described as “diabolical.”

“There’s a lot of run-outs,” said Sorenstam. “There’s a lot of undulation to the greens. Knowing the course, I mean, at that time I think I knew a lot of it, but I also hit it where I wanted it. I think that’s the key, is hitting it where you plan to hit it.

“Today I’m standing there with, like I said, hybrids, so maybe 5-iron and maybe 6 or 7, so you have to be a little more precise. I think as far as an approach, I’m going to be aggressive with what I have, but then conservative just hitting greens.”

Sorenstam said that given where she is now in her career, it would be foolish to attack certain hole locations. She’ll have to play smart.

“She was practicing so much before the Gainbridge last year, and I was like, ‘Oh, guys, be careful,’ the GOAT is coming up,” said Ko. “She’s won so many times, more times than all of us.”

Ko finds it cool that Sorenstam wants to do this for her kids, so they can see in real-time what it’s like for mom to play in an LPGA major. This week won’t have the intimate feel of Brooklawn last year.

Son Will, 11, sat on a cooler during her press conference on Tuesday, soaking it all in. Sorenstam said his love of practicing chip shots with a 60-degree wedge back home has paid off for her, as she does it right along with him.

Will she make the cut this week?

Anyone who has followed the women’s game for the past 25 years knows better than to underestimate Sorenstam. She made the cut last year at Nona in her first LPGA start in a dozen years. Her last missed cut in a U.S. Women’s Open came in 1999. The last shot she hit in this championship was a hole-out for eagle on the 72nd hole in 2008.

Playing #thecradle with the fam. @PinehurstResort @ANNIKA59 @uswomensopen @USGA pic.twitter.com/Pu6skdnw1U

— Mike McGee (@MikeMcGeeAnnika) May 31, 2022

This major is already unlike any other LPGA major in that it’s a family affair. Before she signed up to compete, her husband and kids had to agree to the notion of mom putting in the hours required. Sorenstam wouldn’t dream of coming here unprepared.

Just before Sorenstam met with the media, son Will, who will pour over the yardage book and dissect every shot she hits this week, said “I love you so much, mommy. I believe in you.”

“That’s what I’m going to keep the rest of the week,” said Sorenstam.

The ultimate major pep talk.