ORLANDO, Florida – Annika Sorenstam has been out of the LPGA Tour for over 12 years. Now she has two more days.
Sorenstam made three birdies after making the turn on Friday at Lake Nona and posted a 1-under 71 on Gainbridge’s LPGA. And even with the wrong decision the day before that led to an extra stroke, she still managed to reduce the number.
“I did what I could,” said Sorenstam. “The goal was to kick under the pair and I did, and that’s all I can do.”
She was still 12 shots from the lead when Lydia Ko posted a 3-under 69 and gained a 1 shot lead over Nelly Korda (68). Ryan O’Toole had his second straight 68 and was another shot back.
Sorenstam, making a unique appearance because the LPGA Tour is on its domestic course, finally got some putts and hit three birdies in its nine seconds. She finished 36 holes in 2 over 146 and was right on the cut line.
And then she had to wait for the other half to play in the afternoon, wondering if that decision in the opening round would cost her the weekend again.
Sorenstam hit a triple bogey on the fifth hole of the opening round, when his opening stroke avoided going out of bounds by a fraction. But it was directly under the gate of a wrought iron fence, the limit. She asked about opening the gate, but was told that a stipulation in the rules did not allow this.
So she chose to take a penalty kick, hit the fairway and three 18-foot putts in her 75th round
It turns out that this was one of the changes to the modernization of the Rules of Golf in 2019, the biggest reform of all time. The gate is now treated as a movable obstruction – meaning it can be opened, as long as it is not locked (it was not).
The penalty could not be rescinded because Sorenstam played from a different point.
Rules officer Dan Maselli was devastated and apologized to Sorenstam after the second round. Sorenstam was not bothered, saying that the rules are so new that it is easy to make mistakes in such a peculiar situation.
“He wanted to apologize. He said he was wrong. I could have opened the gate and could have played,” said Sorenstam. “But he said, ‘It will hurt me. This is eating me up inside. ‘ I said, ‘Please don’t feel this way’. I thank. He said, ‘I won’t make that mistake again’. I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to hit there anymore.’
“You know, these things happen. The rules have changed,” she said. “And this is how it happens.”
Even if she didn’t play – making the cut meant finding someone to take her daughter Ava to volleyball – the 50-year-old Swede did what she wanted.
Sorenstam, who retired after a three-season winning streak in 2008 to start a family, described it as an appearance, not a comeback. She wanted a little competition while thinking about playing the US Senior Women’s Open this summer, and she said that she would not have played an LPGA Tour event had it not been at home.
It was not about trying to increase his 72 career wins. But for someone out of the competition for almost as long as her LPGA Tour career, she still has a broad game to play.
“The goal was to be a little more aggressive. Sometimes I was; not as much as I should have been,” she said. “Overall, I’m very satisfied. A small chip-in didn’t hurt. But yes, I see it as a big round. I’m not going to analyze it much.”
Attention shifts to Ko, a former teenage prodigy and No. 1 in the world who won his first LPGA Tour event at age 15. Ko has spent nearly three years since his last win, although his game is trending upwards.
“No matter what happens over the weekend, I think it is good to continue to put myself in those positions,” said Ko. “I think you are more comfortable with that, and the more often you are there, the greater the chance that in the end everything will happen for you.”