Sorenstam tees it up one last time

Barring a change of heart, the ADT Championship will be her final event

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. -- Annika Sorenstam typically asks for no more than 10 tournament passes in a normal week, enough to accommodate close friends and family.

This is not a normal week.

Barring a change of heart, the ADT Championship this weekend will be Sorenstam's farewell to the LPGA Tour.

So with more than 50 friends and family in tow, some of whom flew in from Sweden and around the globe, Sorenstam tees it up for her final LPGA tournament before she "steps away."

Today, unless she moves a bit up the leaderboard, she'll be waving goodbye.

Sorenstam shot a 2-over par 74 in Thursday's opening round, good for a tie for 23rd in the 32-woman event. The field gets trimmed to 16 after today's play, meaning Sorenstam has some work remaining just to reach the weekend.

She refuses to call it retirement -- "the r-word," as she puts it -- and many around the tour figure she'll be back.

Just not in 2009. The 38-year-old plans to get married, start a family and tend to her array of business interests, including designing golf courses.

"Normally, I'm this cold Swede just going down the fairways," Sorenstam said. "It's been very different. But I've enjoyed it. It's been a great year in so many ways. I've had a chance to summarize my career and had a chance to share my memories with a lot of fans."

After 72 LPGA wins, 10 major championships, a Hall of Fame enshrinement, more than $22 million in prize money, her own academy, a round of 59 and one memorable matchup against the men of the PGA Tour, Sorenstam has decided the time is right for a new chapter.

She made the announcement in May, and the last six months have been a whirlwind goodbye tour.

Her first tournament on the LPGA Tour was the U.S. Women's Open in 1992, when she played as an amateur. Back then, few knew who she was. Some of the papers covering that tournament referred to her as "Sorenstan," while others had "Anika."

But along the way, Annika became a one-name brand, just like Tiger and Jack and Arnie.

An eight-time LPGA player of the year, Sorenstam dominated the game like almost none other. She's the only woman to shoot 59 in a competitive round, is one of six to achieve the women's career Grand Slam, and became the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour when she played the Colonial in 2003 -- missing the cut, but that hardly mattered.

All that remains, she hopes, is four more rounds -- capped by a $1 million first-prize payday Sunday afternoon.

"It's a special week in many ways," Sorenstam said. "I must admit, I have some mixed emotions. I'm sad that it's coming to an end, but it's my decision, and when I decide to do something I stick with it. And I'm very excited about the future as well."

Sorenstam put together consecutive birdies on the par-4 14th and par-5 15th to stop the bogey bleeding and eventually finished six shots behind Katherine Hull (68).

The scores are erased after today's play, then get wiped clear again after Saturday's round, after which only the top eight get invited back Sunday to play for the $1 million winner's prize.

Hull, one of the hottest players on tour over the last three months, finished one shot better than Ji-Yai Shin and In-Kyung Kim. Three others -- Ji Young Oh, Eun-Hee Ji and Na Yeon Choi -- were two strokes off Hull's pace.

World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, the defending champion, was 6 over and finished tied for 26th with a 75.