On Sunday at the Evian Championship, two of the game’s greatest players came together in presentation of the Rolex Annika Major Award – a living legend presenting the season long prize to the world’s top-ranked player.
For recipient Lydia Ko, accepting the award was just as much about the recognition as it was receiving it from Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam.
“I think it's very significant, and for her to be here and for her to be able to present the trophy to me I think makes it even more special,” Ko said just before receiving the award. “It's something that I could have only really dreamt of and imagined of, and for it to be true in a few moments I think is going to be awesome, and especially for me to stand alongside a legend like Annika.”
Ko is the third recipient of the award, which began in 2014 to recognize the player with the strongest performance in the season’s five major championships. Ko won the first major of the year at the ANA Inspiration and was up against fellow major champions Brooke Henderson, Brittany Lang and Ariya Jutanugarn for this year’s award.
“I thought the competition for the Rolex Annika Major Award was incredible this year,” Sorenstam told LPGA.com via email. “We literally had the top three players in the world along with U.S. Women’s Open champ Brittany Lang all with a chance to win the last week. That’s about as good as it gets.”
The race for RAMA came down to the season’s first four major champions as the only players with a mathematical chance to win this year’s award upon arriving in Evian.
“All four major winners have different playing styles,” said Sorenstam. “They vary from long hitters to average hitters, some have aggressive playing styles, others more strategy and conservative. They are all from different corners of the world. Very cool.”
Ko came into the season hoping to play better in the year’s biggest events and receiving the award was a testament to the hard work she put in to achieve it, posting three top-3’s in this year’s majors.
“It means a lot, especially because coming into this year my goal was to be more consistent in majors, and this exactly is the award for that, and obviously you need a win to have that, and just to have it named after Annika and how successful she's been in majors and just in general and what she's done for the game, I think there might not be some of us if it wasn't for a player like her,” Ko said.
“She said it was her goal to be more consistent in the majors this year and I think she was,” said Sorenstam. “She is a very smart player who thinks her way around the course and putts well. She knows her strengths and builds on it.”
For those looking to make a run at the 2017 Rolex Annika Major Award, winning at least one, contending in one or two or at least posting a top-10 is what Sorenstam says is a winning recipe.
“I think it’s important to plan your schedule around the majors so you peak the right weeks,” said Sorenstam. “Also, three of the courses are different each year so you need to be able to adapt to each course. That itself takes experience and wisdom.”
Click here for the final standings for the 2016 Rolex Annika Major Award.
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