Golf: Annika Sorenstam shares her passion for game with girls in Naples

Annika Sorenstam may have been the greatest woman to ever play golf,  but that didn’t stop youths from coming up to her Sunday at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

Unprompted, they asked her to pose for pictures or sign golf balls or have short conversations.

Sorenstam, 48 and the winner of 72 tour events including 10 majors, wouldn’t have it any other way.

“When I leave, I get more energized,” she said. “It’s not long ago, I was in their shoes.

“This is not meant to find the next superstar. It’s to learn some of the basics. And it’s a chance for girls meet other girls with the same passion for golf.”

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This is the fourth year Sorenstam has been involved with the "Share My Passion" LPGA*USGA girls golf clinic.

The event asks girls (ages 6-12) to write an open letter to other girls their age telling them why they love the game of golf. Of the letters submitted, 40 finalists are chosen by Sorenstam and the committee to attend the clinic. 

Of the 40 players Sunday, 10 are from different states. They have to pay for their own transportation but once here they receive teaching, a tour, goodie bag and lunch.

“Their personal insights give you tears,” Sorenstam said. “They draw pictures of golf with a flag and hearts and different colors. They explain what it means to go outside and be with friends or their dads.”

Kyra White, 10, of Naples wrote that she likes to play with her family, which includes her grandparents, father and brother Harrison, 12.

“And sometimes my mom,” she added.

Players learned about various aspects of golf in fun ways like putting to squares in a game of tic-tac-toe or hitting water balloons with irons.

Kyra and Kamryn Frea, 8, of Naples both liked the putting.

“I play every week,” Kamryn added.

The youths received a behind-the scenes look at how a golf tournament – in this case the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship – works. Their gifts included visors, notebooks and player guides.

“The LPGA’s focus is to empower and inspire,” said Leia Schwartz, event coordinator and community coordinator for the LPGA Foundation. “We want to teach them life skills and give them inspiration through golfers like Annika.”

While Schwartz said not all the players will be pros, many wrote that they want to play in college. That’s important because some college programs aren’t using their full allotment of scholarships because they can’t find enough talented players.

“It’s great to hear the golfers thinking about college scholarship at 9 years old,” she said.

Sorenstam also is involved with a program that puts on seven tours around the world for players ages 12-18. She hopes her involvement can increase the number of young and teen girls playing golf.

“About 33 percent of juniors playing golf are girls,” she said. “We’d love to get that to 50.”