01필드 위에 새겨지는 전설의 이름… 소렌스탐이 이끄는 여자 골프의 미래
여자 골프의 거장 애니카 소렌스탐이 자신의 이름을 타이틀로 내건 LPGA 투어 대회 '디 애니카 드라이븐 바이 게인브릿지 어펠리컨(The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican)'을 통해 독보적인 유산을 이어가고 있다. 이번 대회는 탁월한 기량을 선보였던 그녀의 선수 시절 업적을 기리는 동시에, 스포츠계 전반에 미치는 영향력을 다시 한번 입증하는 무대가 되고 있다.
펠리컨 골프클럽에서 개최되는 이 대회는 타이틀 스폰서인 게인브릿지와의 협력을 바탕으로 LPGA 투어 내에서도 손꼽히는 주요 이벤트로 자리 잡았다. 소렌스탐은 현역 시절 쌓은 선구자적 리더십을 바탕으로 세계 최고 수준의 선수들이 모여 경쟁하는 장을 마련하는 데 핵심적인 역할을 하고 있다.
통산 72승을 자랑하는 소렌스탐의 유산은 과거의 기록에 머물지 않고 후배 선수들에게 끊임없는 영감을 제공하고 있다. 이번 '디 애니카' 대회는 골프 전설로서의 위엄과 스포츠 발전을 이끄는 리더로서의 정체성을 완벽히 조화시키며 여자 골프계에 지속적인 비전을 제시하고 있다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Amy Rogers is an award winning multimedia journalist and freelance writer who has covered professional golf since 2007. She is a contributor to LPGA.com in addition to the Golf Channel and BBC's coverage of the LPGA Tour.
Annika Sorenstam’s legacy in golf has grown far beyond her 72 LPGA Tour titles and 10 major victories. Since Annika retired in 2008, she has made a broader impact on the game by influencing female participation in the sport at all of its stages - from youth to executive. In the four years since the World Golf Hall of Fame member lent her name to the LPGA Tour’s stop, The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, the tournament has become the point of convergence for the initiatives Sorenstam has championed, including the tour event itself.
“I think the legacy is to give back in every aspect of the sport,” Annika said about her ongoing presence in the game. “We want to cover every aspect of women’s golf and junior girls golf. It’s different work than playing, but I really feel like my playing career is helping these initiatives along.”
Leaning on her 15 years of competing on the LPGA Tour, Annika has sought to provide a first-class tournament experience for the 108 players who make up the field at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. By doing so, the current generation of players have turned out year after year, not just in a sign of respect for the tournament’s host, but because it has become a must-play event on the LPGA Tour’s schedule with a purse that rivals some of the largest on tour at $3.25 million.
Nelly Korda, already a three-time winner of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, headlines the field again this season as she’ll be chasing not only her fifth win of 2026, but also with another victory at Pelican Golf Club, Korda would earn a coveted point towards qualifying for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. She sits just one point shy of joining the elite club that features Annika.
“Seems like Nelly likes our course very well,” Annika said while meeting with the media ahead of this year’s tournament. “She’s a good ball-striker and I think the second shots are really important at Pelican because of the greens. The greens are quite undulated. They’re fast.”
Korda will have to hold off an elite crop of players if she wants to win Annika’s tournament for the fourth time, including the return of all its past champions in Linn Grant, the winner in 2025, and Sei Young Kim and Lilia Vu. This year’s field also features early commitments from two-time major winner Haeran Ryu, Ruoning Yin, Lottie Woad, and fan favorites Charley Hull and Brooke Henderson.
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican falls at a critical point in the schedule as it is the final event for players to earn much-needed points in the season-long Race to the CME Globe and to sure-up their status on the LPGA Tour for the coming season. Players who finish inside the top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe earn a spot in the field at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship the following week.
“The timing is very, very crucial and very important for us, and we noticed that with the field,” Annika said about her tournament’s place in the schedule. “A lot is on the line, so we want to make sure you test every part of the game.”
While the tournament will no-doubt provide another dramatic conclusion to the LPGA Tour’s regular season, it is also very much a celebration. This year, the tournament will institute a new initiative spearheaded by the tour’s caddies that will recognize Terry McNamara, Annika’s longtime looper, who has also worked for Carlota Ciganda and Lauren Coughlin.
“He’s worked hard all these years and has been caddying for a lot of players and helped them to fulfill their dreams,” Annika said about McNamara. “It’s always the player that gets all the recognition, so I’m glad it's reversed this time.”
McNamara isn’t the only one being honored as Veterans Day falls during tournament week on November 11. All veterans along with active duty military and first responders will receive complimentary admission to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. And the Hero Outpost presented by FedData at the par three, 12th hole will provide veterans and active military with exclusive hospitality access.
While the tournament has made sure to respect those who have given so much, The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge has always had a heavy slant on looking to the future. The tournament has annually provided a number of sponsor invitations to up-and-coming players within the women’s game, and, in 2025, Kai Trump was a recipient of one of the tournament’s invitations. For 2026, sponsor invitations were awarded to Wake Forest’s Macy Pate along with Scarlett Schremmer, a two-time winner at the University of Miami, and Annabelle Pancake-Webb, a soon-to-be rookie on the LPGA Tour.
“The results are up to me, really putting in the work, making sure I’m coming into the event knowing I’ve done everything in my power to do everything to play well,” Pancake-Webb said about her preparations for the tournament. “Going out and playing and enjoying it and soaking it in.”
Pate’s team won The ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M which in turn led to Pate receiving a sponsor invite, in perfect synergy with Sorenstam's foundation.
“It’s budding stars who have great careers so far to date, but also massively bright futures ahead,” said Tournament Director, Ryan Dever about what the team looks for in selecting sponsor invites. “Providing that opportunity for them to partake in our field is an honor and a privilege for the team that puts on the tournament.”
And those opportunities begin at an even younger age for the youngest members of the golf community who will get a chance to connect with the athletes and the tournament’s host on-site. Saturday, Annika’s Share My Passion Clinic will provide young girls, aspiring to learn more about the game, a chance to learn directly from the Hall of Famer during a unique instructional experience. A second Junior Golf Show will also be offered on Saturday and all children age 17 and younger receive free admission with a ticketed adult.
It’s all in an effort to unite each of the initiatives that Annika has championed throughout and following her remarkable playing career on the LPGA Tour. And all those efforts come to a head during one of the biggest weeks of the year in the women’s game at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
“For the next generation, I’ve been cheering for them for years,” Annika said. “Hopefully that comes across.’