It was on May 22, 2003, that Annika Sorenstam, who was then a 43-time LPGA Tour champion, became the first woman in over 50 years to compete in a PGA Tour event when she teed it up in the first round of the Bank of America Colonial.

Sorenstam received a sponsor exemption into the field that year at Colonial Country Club and went off No. 10 in round one on Thursday, playing alongside Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson, the latter of whom even purchased one of the $3 “Go Annika” buttons that were available on-site that week in Texas.

She opened her PGA Tour debut with a 1-over 71, a day-one effort that saw Sorenstam make two bogeys and one birdie on the par-3 13th hole, an impressive score considering the course was playing over 7,000 yards long. She then followed that up with a 4-over 74 on Friday after making five bogeys and one birdie on her second hole of the second round, and Sorenstam ultimately missed playing the weekend in Texas by just a few shots.

But it was the courage she displayed while competing against the men that was ultimately the most inspiring part of Sorenstam’s performance at the Bank of America Colonial and many LPGA Tour athletes, including players like Michelle Wie West, Brittany Lincicome and most recently Lexi Thompson, have followed in the Swede’s footsteps over the years by also teeing it up on the PGA Tour.

Sorenstam amassed a total of 72 victories in her time as an LPGA Tour member, 10 of which were major championships, and she made over $22 million in career earnings, what is still the most amount of money earned by any athlete in the history of the organization. Twenty-one of her wins were recorded in just two years on Tour, as the eight-time Rolex Player of the Year earned 11 titles in 2002, which tied the record for second-most wins in a single season alongside Mickey Wright, and she then earned 10 victories two seasons later in 2005.

Sorenstam retired from the LPGA Tour in 2008 and is still widely regarded as the greatest female golfer in the history of the game. She is the only LPGA Tour member to have broken 60 in an official tournament and is a member of both the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame.

On This Date: Annika Sorenstam Competes at 2003 Bank of America Colonial

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