Sorenstam poised for emotional farewell on LPGA Tour

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 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 December 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."

BITTERSWEET FEELINGS

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 summarize 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."