Annika Sörenstam achieved everything she wanted on the golf course as a player.

Once she decided to quit, there was no desire to start again.

She often said that it was because she wanted to be able to perform at the top if she played well, not just be involved.

On Thursday, she will appear in the LPGA competition Gainsbridge on Lake Nona in Orlando.

She lives in a house on the track, just like Henrik Stenson does.

But why does she suddenly choose to compete again?

It's not a comeback, as her husband Mike McGee made clear to me in an email conversation.

It's a prominence.

But call it what you will.

It is still a competition at the very highest level on the LPGA Tour.

There are of course several reasons why Annika chooses to compete again.

The competition takes place in her backyard and there is a reason she herself emphasizes, that she would never have lined up if the competition had not been moved to Lake Nona.

Another reason is that Annika has already made a decision to compete again, but on the senior tour.

Her goal was to compete in the US Senior Women's Open at the end of July / beginning of August.

And to do that, she has to prepare.

That due to her role as newly elected president of the International Golf Association, it can be difficult to participate if there is an Olympics is another matter ...

But there may be other reasons for Annika's return.

To steal the headlines back.

To reverse the negative image that her brand had to endure after what happened on January 7.

Then Annika Sörenstam chose to receive the Freedom Medal from the hands of the then Donald Trump.

The same Trump who the day before called on his supporters at the Capitol to fight (hell like) and then himself passively watch as hundreds of these supporters invaded the building to stop the Senate's approval of the electoral votes in the presidential election.

The date for the award ceremony was of course set before any of this happened, but the legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick, who was also to be praised, chose to say no to the award.

Sörenstam did not.

She received the award and the criticism did not wait.

Sörenstam herself explained it all by saying that she looks at the price according to who has previously received it.

That it, makes the price great, and that it is the only thing that matters to her.

Who distributed it was not relevant.

"I do not want to put energy into what has happened, but I am a person who constantly looks ahead and continues to open doors and create opportunities for young girls around the world," Sörenstam told NBC / Golf Channel.

And it should be said, not so clearly, that Sörenstam has condemned everything that happened on 6 January.

But that was not enough for many.

She was still described as tactless by many critics.

For someone who is so loved in the United States for his fantastic golf career and who has also recently been elected president of the International Golf Federation, with the Tokyo Olympics as his next big goal, it was of course devastating to have this negative pressure. 

What do you usually say is the best way to respond to a negative headline and a media drive?

Well, to completely shift focus.  

A "comeback" on the golf course undeniably fits very well into such a plan.

"Annika makes a comeback", "Sörenstam will challenge the best on the LPGA Tour", "The legend is back"

Those headlines made the Trump story, perhaps not disappear, but faded away from the consciousness of many.

It may seem calculating and cynical, but at the same time it is also quite liberating - to see that an athlete's life's work does not have to be ruined for good due to a "mistake" but that you can come back and actually get noticed and remembered for the fantastic achievements performed in the sports arena. 

Annika Sörenstam is one of Sweden's greatest athletes of all time.

No one can take that away from her. 

Now it tickles her golf gut when she goes out and competes again.

And there are many questions I would rather have answered than the one about the Trump story.

Is the magic in the wrists still there?


Is there a tough competitive psyche left?


Can she assert herself despite a long absence?


Has she kept up with the development, how far does she go?



Regardless, it will be extremely exciting to see her swing a golf club on the LPGA Tour again.