Conqueror of one of junior golf’s strongest fields will also appear with Annika on
Golf Channel’s ‘Morning Drive’ and ‘Inside The PGA Tour’
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The ANNIKA Foundation – golf Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam’s charitable organization – announces the girl who wins this week’s ANNIKA Invitational USA will receive an invite to the Symetra Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, March 10-12, at the Country Club of Winter Haven (Fla.).
She will also appear on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive,” with Annika, on Tuesday, February 21, and on an upcoming “Inside the PGA Tour” episode that will feature the ANNIKA Foundation.
The ninth-annual ANNIKA Invitational USA, produced in association with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), will be played on Reunion Resort’s (Kissimmee, Fla.) Watson Course, Feb. 17-20.
“I am thrilled for the ANNIKA Invitational champion to receive an exemption into Florida’s Natural Charity Classic,” says Annika. “Providing girls with the opportunity to succeed at all levels is at the core of our mission and we look forward to this partnership.”
The 72 player, all-girls ANNIKA Invitational USA field (ages 12-19) is annually recognized as one of the strongest in junior golf. The 54 hole, stroke-play event will feature 26 Rolex Junior All-Americans and competitors hailing from 15 states and 12 foreign countries.
Since 2009, more than 200 ANNIKA Invitational participants have gone on to play NCAA Division I golf, with several, like 2015 Solheim Cup player Alison Lee, reaching the LPGA Tour.
Annika is intimately involved in tournament week, which lives up to its “More than Golf” tagline with a gala dinner, seminars about the college admission process, nutrition and fitness, and more.
Her ANNIKA Foundation hosts four junior tournaments in addition to the ANNIKA Invitational USA – the ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills (China), ANNIKA Invitational Europe (Sweden), ANNIKA Cup (Sweden) and ANNIKA Invitational Latin America (Argentina).
They’re joined on the schedule by the ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M, which moves to Minnesota for this year’s edition. Since its 2014 inception, the ANNIKA Intercollegiate has annually hosted the strongest field in women’s NCAA Division I golf. Each year the ANNIKA Foundation also presents the ANNIKA Award Presented by 3M to the most outstanding Division I golfer.
For more information: www.annikasorenstam.com/foundation.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation (www.annikasorenstam.com/foundation) to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children.
It annually conducts five major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA in Orlando, Fla.; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with The R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in Argentina. In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award Presented by 3M (awarded to most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer) and ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M (12 team, 54-hole event in Minnesota). SPARK grants to schools, financial support of Healthy 100 Kids, endowing an AJGA ACE Grant, ANNIKA Junior Day and the “Share My Passion” Clinic in partnership with LPGA*USGA Girls Golf are other initiatives.
Contact:
Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo.Agency
703.344.6031
sreynolds@buffalo.agency
Buffalo.Agency
