Annika Faces Big Challenge

Annika Sorenstam began a gradual slide from the top of women's golf at the major championship that brought her so much satisfaction. But she salvaged her worst season of this decade last year at the U.S. Women's Open, a week where everything went right. There was thick fog that wiped out the first round at Newport Country Club. This gave her an extra day to refine her swing. She was able to complete 36 holes on Sunday and a four shot victory in the 18 hole playoff, That was when she first felt stiffness and soreness in her neck. It was nothing more than a nuisance at first but it turned into much more. Nine months later, she realized she had a bulging disk in her back and a ruptured disk in her neck. This knocked her out of competition for two months, but she is looking forward to getting back and being 100% again.