LOS ANGELES // Sweden's Annika Sorenstam, the dominant figure in women's golf for the past decade, is ready to make a poignant farewell appearance on the LPGA Tour at this week's season-ending ADT Championship.
Sorenstam will also play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.
Although the 37-year-old Swede intends to retain her ties to the game away from tournament golf, she has prepared for an emotional send-off.
"I'm not really sure how I'll feel or what the emotions will be," Sorenstam told reporters in the build-up to Thursday's first round at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"It's been very different since I announced my stepping away," added the Swede, who publicly announced in May she would be quitting the game.
"I've not played as well and I don't know if it's because I've been busy getting involved with tournaments, saying goodbye and engaging with fans and sponsors or unconsciously knowing I've made the decision and I'm having a hard time focusing."
Sorenstam, whose career tally of 72 LPGA Tour victories includes 10 major titles, has bittersweet feelings about this week.
"It's a tournament that's meant a lot to me throughout the years," the four-times champion said. "It's really going to summarise my career on the LPGA.
"So in a way I'm looking forward to it, in another way I'm not.
"Even though the ADT is my last LPGA (event), it's not my last one as a professional. I think it will be different than when I fly home from Dubai when I'm totally finished as a professional."
Sorenstam, a three-times winner on the LPGA Tour this season, has no regrets about moving on.
She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, charitable foundation and course design projects.
"I've achieved so much more than I thought I could and I'm ready to move on," she said. "I didn't know how long I was going to play. I was so motivated with short-term goals and long-term goals and winning majors. That was driving me.
"Then all of a sudden, I felt like I achieved what I wanted to. The motivation was not there anymore. I'm still playing good golf but I have achieved everything. I just felt the time was right."
Sorenstam piled up a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994. She won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
*Reuters
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Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
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Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
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Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
Super Saturday results
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
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6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Number of tracks: 10
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Name: Akeed
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
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The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
