Report: Annika Sorenstam is a new member at Augusta National

Annika Sorenstam continues to break ground even long after her days of collecting LPGA titles are over.

First reported by Golfweek, the 72-time LPGA winner and 10-time major champion became a member at Augusta National Golf Club earlier this month, making her the first LPGA professional to join the club. Sorenstam’s husband and manager, Mike McGee, declined to comment when asked by Golf Digest, but Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed the news while attending the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship this week. 

"Well, let me just start by saying that we have had a long‑standing policy of not commenting on membership issues," Ridley said. "However, I am very excited about Annika. So I'll just say that. She is a delightful person. As you know, we have a number of women members and have for quite a few years. I think it made us a better club and they are an integral part of our culture.

"I've known Annika for quite some time, and I think she is going to be a great addition to the club. I played golf with her at an opening member event last week, and I can tell you, she can still play, and she was just a delight to be with."

Sorenstam, 53, officially started membership in October when the club opened for the season. She joins former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina philanthropist Darla Moore, who both became the club’s first women members in 2012 under then-chairman Billy Payne’s watch. The club was founded in 1932.

Co-chair of the Pebble Beach Co. Heidi Ueberroth, former USGA president Diana Murphy, former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and executive chairman of the Santander Group Ana Botin have all since joined the club.

After entering the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, Sorenstam retired from competitive golf in 2008 having won 90 tournaments worldwide. She remains the only woman to shoot 59 on the LPGA, having done so back in 2001. Two years later, in 2003, she played in the PGA Tour event at Colonial, making her the first woman to play in a tour event since 1945.

Sorenstam was one of the first tee starters before the final round of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, when she joined Lorena Ochoa, Nancy Lopez and Se Ri Pak. In 2021, after turning 50, Sorenstam played in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, shot an opening 67, a final-round 68 and walked away with the trophy, winning by eight shots. She played in the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year at Pebble Beach, saying it was the final time she’d ever play in the championship that she won three times.

“I just really felt the love and the support,” she said. “It’s been a special week in so many ways.”