By Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport |
 | Sorenstam won her first British Open at Royal Lytham |
Annika Sorenstam's vice-like grip on women's golf tightened with her victory in the Weetabix women's British Open at Royal Lytham on Sunday. The 32-year-old Swede's sixth Major title lifted her into an elite group of career Grand Slam winners to cap an already remarkable year.
Sorenstam joins Pat Bradley (1986), Julie Inkster (1999), Louise Suggs (1957), Karrie Webb (2001) and Mickey Wright (1962) as one of only six players to win every designated women's Major in their career.
The biggest prizes on the women's circuit are the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the US Women's Open, the LPGA Championship and the Women's British Open.
Only Australia's Webb has achieved more in the Majors, with a "Super Career Grand Slam" to her name for also capturing the Du Maurier Classic before it was superceded as a Major by the British Open in 2001.
| Sorenstam's Major victories 1995: US Women's Open 1996: US Women's Open 2001: Kraft Nabisco Championship 2002: Kraft Nabisco Championship 2003: LPGA Championship, Women's British Open |
The Stockholm-born Sorenstam made her full LPGA debut in 1994 and in the following two years made her intentions plain with back-to-back US Women's Open victories. She topped the money list in 1995 and won it again in 1997 and 1998.
Sorenstam relinquished her title as world number one for two years at the end of the decade, finishing fourth and second.
But since then she has totally dominated women's golf.
In 2001, she successfully defended her Kraft Nabisco Championship and set or tied 30 LPGA records, including firing a record 59 in the second round of the Standard Register PING event in Arizona.
She won eight times during the year to become the first player in LPGA Tour history to eclipse the $2m mark in single-season earnings.
Last year, Sorenstam won 11 LPGA titles and earned a record $2,863,904 - more than $1m more than Korea's Se Ri Pak, who finished second on the LPGA money list.
In June this year, Sorenstam clinched her first LPGA Championship when she edged Korea's Grace Park in a play-off.
But the season will be remembered for her one-off appearance on the men's tour.
She became the first woman to play on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias in 1945 when she was invited to compete in The Colonial tournament in May.
Despite criticism from a handful of male pros, and an enormous amount of pressure on her shoulders, Sorenstam performed admirably, only to miss the cut by four shots after rounds of 71 and 74. Sorenstam said at the time: "I've climbed as high as I can, and it's worth every step of it. I won't do this again, but I will always remember it. "
Fellow Swede and Ryder Cup star Jesper Parnevik said: "I am very proud of her, very impressed with the way she's handled herself. She played amazing.
"I guess we have the Shark, the Tiger and now we have the Superwoman."
Indeed. Sorenstam may have a justifiable claim to be the most dominant golfer of her generation. And that includes a certain Mr Woods.
MMIX
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I guess we have the Shark, the Tiger and now we have the Superwoman 
