ANNIKA Foundation Unveils First 10 Teams for 2019 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M
Defending Champion Alabama Joins No.1 USC, Eight Other Top Women’s Programs
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The ANNIKA Foundation – golf Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam’s charitable organization – has released the first 10 teams that will participate in the 2019 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
Defending champion Alabama will have its work cut out to repeat, as a who’s who of top-ranked programs will descend upon Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, Sept. 15-18. They include No.1 USC, No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Arkansas. 2018 Division I women’s national champion Arizona and archrival Arizona State, 2014 ANNIKA Intercollegiate winner South Carolina, traditional powerhouse UCLA and host school Minnesota currently round out the field.
UCLA sophomore Patty Tavatanakit, who won last year’s ANNIKA Intercollegiate on the strength of a final-round 63, is projected to be the highest-ranked competitor at Royal Golf Club. She currently holds the No. 2 spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). Other anticipated participants include 2017-18 All Americans Ana Belac (Duke), Jaravee Boonchant (Duke), Jennifer Chang (USC), Yu-Sang Hou (Arizona) and Kaitlyn Papp (Texas).
“Year six of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M promises to be the best one yet,” says Annika, who co-designed the host golf course with Arnold Palmer. “Royal Golf Club was a wonderful venue last year for both on and off-course reasons and we’re excited to return.”
The final two teams will be named later this year, with berths reserved for the 2019 Division I women’s national champion and the school of the winner of the 2019 ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel. The ANNIKA Award is annually presented to the most outstanding female collegiate golfer as voted on by peers, coaches and media.
The ANNIKA Foundation is devoted to growing the game of golf around the world. In addition to its involvement with the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and ANNIKA Award, it annually hosts six girls-only invitational tournaments on five continents: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex, the ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup (Sweden), ANNIKA Invitational Mission Hills (China), the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America (Uruguay) and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia (New Zealand).
Since the inaugural Foundation tournament – the 2009 ANNIKA Invitational USA – 45 ANNIKA event alumnae have earned LPGA cards. Twenty-eight alumnae competed in the 2019 ANA Inspiration.
For more information, please visit www.annikafoundation.org.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA 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 six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida; 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 and ANNIKA Invitational Australasia. In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel (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, and the “Share My Passion” Golf Clinics are other areas of emphasis.
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