Headline: Annika Sorenstam to be Honored With the 15th Francis Ouimet Award for Lifelong Contributions to Golf at the Fund's Annual Banquet on May 10
For Immediate Release: March 8, 2010
Norton, MA — The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund has extended a special invitation to the golfing public to this year's Annual Banquet.
Highlighting this annual fundraising event will be Annika Sorenstam, winner of 10 LPGA major championships, who will be the guest speaker and honored with the 15th Francis Ouimet Award for Lifelong Contributions to Golf.
LPGA Commissioner Emeritus Charles S. "Charlie" Mechem, Jr. will serve as Master of Ceremonies. The banquet will be held Monday, May 10, 2010 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel.
"It is great to have Ms. Sorenstam accept our invitation and to have Charlie Mechem grace us again as Master of Ceremonies. This gives our dinner an amazing lineup over the past six years – Greg Norman, Peter Jacobsen, Barbara and Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson and now Annika," said Ouimet Fund President Rich Barrett. "We are thrilled to honor Annika with our highest award.”
He went on to explain Sorenstam is considered one of the greatest players in golf history. She is the winner of 10 LPGA major titles, including three Kraft Nabisco Titles, three LPGA Championships, and three US Women’s Open Championships.
Sorenstam retired from professional golf in 2008 at age 37 to concentrate on raising a family and to grow her various business enterprises. In all, she has won 72 tournaments on the LPGA Tour and 89 worldwide, ranking her third on the all-time list. She was Player of the Year eight times and leading money winner eight times. She also played on four Solheim Cup teams. Sorenstam was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003. The Swedish native became a dual citizen in 2006. Mr. Barrett also explained that this will be the third time Mr. Mechem has acted as Master of Ceremonies, previously having served with Nancy Lopez in 2004 and Barbara and Jack Nicklaus in 2007.