November 29, 2012 -- Updated 1326 GMT (2126 HKT)
Since retiring from professional
golf, Annika has started a family with husband Mike McGee, with Ava born
in 2009 and William two years later.
HIDE CAPTION
Family first
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Annika Sorenstam retired from professional golf in 2008 at only 38
- She won 93 tournaments including 10 majors in glittering career
- The American-based Swede is building a business empire
- Sorenstam is married with two young children
In many cases they make a
comeback in an attempt to rediscover former glories and some like
tennis player Kim Clijsters, who won three more grand slams, make a
success of it.
But more often than not in ends in failure, with seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, who quit for the second time at the end of this season, and multiple world boxing champion Ricky Hatton, knocked out in his comeback fight, recent notable examples.
In golfer Annika
Sorenstam's case, you get "busier than I've ever been" and pursue a
business career while running a foundation and looking after a young
family -- all with the inner drive and determination that took her to
the top in her chosen sport.
Her decision to quit back
in 2008 came as a shock. She was only 38 and still a contender at the
highest levels, but once she made the break it was total and final.
LPGA winner reveals Olympic ambitions
Ochoa: Motherhood has changed me
Her last competitive
event was in Dubai in December of that year and she has not trod the
professional fairway since, marrying her second husband, Mike McGee, in
2009.
They have two young
children, Ava born that year and William in 2011, who arrived 13 weeks
premature, but thankfully with no ill effects.
But through her
commercial and golf design interests, promoting the ANNIKA brand of
clothing, Sorenstam is still heavily involved in the game she loves.
Timing in business just
like golf is everything and the Swede told CNN that launching new
ventures in a global recession was "tough."
Growing portfolio
But she was not going to
allow something as trivial as economic turmoil to divert her from her
goals and Sorenstam has put her name to a growing portfolio of signature
golf courses, mostly in Asia.
Back at home in Orlando,
Florida is the base for her academy, where players of all standards can
sign up for tuition, and her non-profit making foundation, which offers
young golfers opportunities to fulfill their potential.
She also has an interest in a winery and financial group, as well as making occasional appearances on the Golf Channel.
Like her male
counterparts such as Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman, who have built up
business empires off the course, Sorenstam believes the work ethic is
the key.
"There are a lot of
similarities with the things I learned on the golf course, such as focus
and determination," she told CNN. "Without drive and vision you can't
start anything, it's a little bit in you."
I remember what it was like to come down the stretch in the lead,
but then I look at my kids and know that I am happy where I am in my
life
Annika Sorenstam
Annika Sorenstam
Sorenstam retired just
at the time when Asian players were beginning to dominate the LPGA Tour,
including World No.1 Yani Tseng, who the Swede has mentored. It helps
they are near neighbors in Lake Nona.
"I share my experience of what it's like to be at the top, to always look at the big picture," said Sorenstam.
Asian success
She believes that the
wave of success that Tseng and others from the region are riding, will
continue after Asian players won all four of the women's majors in 2012.
"They have tremendous
support from their families, are prepared to start practicing at seven
o'clock in the morning and stay there all day," said Sorenstam.
The introduction of golf
at the 2016 Rio Olympics -- Sorenstam was in the delegation which
presented to the IOC -- will she believes further fuel the ambition of
women golfers from all over the world to challenge the traditional
American domination of the LPGA Tour.
Sorenstam led the charge
of overseas players during her glittering career, which saw her win 72
LPGA events, including 10 majors, and 21 other tournaments.
She is the career
leading money winner at over $22 million and broke new ground by
becoming the first woman in 58 years to compete in a men's PGA Tour
event.
Her appearance at the
2003 Colonial in Texas put women's golf to the top of the sporting
headlines and despite narrowly missing the cut, Sorenstam did enough to
earn the respect of her male counterparts.
"I wanted to challenge myself, to get better, to learn from the best in the world, to push myself to the extreme."
Boost interest
Where Sorenstam led,
others like Michelle Wie followed in men's events, but she knows that
the LPGA still has a long way to go to match the coverage given to the
PGA Tour.
Augusta National admits 2 women
To boost interest, she
would like to see the two tours run combined events as the same venue as
happens with ATP and WTA tennis tournaments. "It would be great for
fans" and would pave the way for more equality in prize money she
believes.
The 42-year-old was recently named vice-captain to fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann for the 2013 Solheim Cup in Colorado.
She performed the same role as Europe beat the United States in the biennial team event in Ireland in 2011.
But is she ever tempted to make a playing comeback?
"I think about when I
turn on the golf on TV," she admitted. "I remember what it was like to
come down the stretch in the lead, but then I look at my kids and know
that I am happy where I am in my life.
"To play with my husband and two children would be my favorite foursome now."
Juggling the demands of a
busy professional and business life, her diary is hectic, and finding
time for her young family, would test anybody.
But one has the feeling
that Sorenstam is totally committed to her new life away from
professional sport and wild horses could not drag her back on the
fairways of the world.
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http://edition.cnn.com/
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