Sweden’s Vasatorp Golf Club Ready for Eighth-Annual ANNIKA Invitational Europe
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The ANNIKA Foundation– golf Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam’s charitable organization – will host the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, June 17-20, at Vasatorp Golf Club in Helsingbord, Sweden.
For the eighth-consecutive year, girls ages 13-18 will vie for one of the most-coveted junior championships in Europe. In addition, the ANNIKA Invitational Europe is one of 10 events used for qualifying for the PING Junior Solheim Cup team. This year’s field of 78 players hails from 17 different countries and includes top competitors like Pia Babnik (Slovenia), Annabell Fuller (England), Lily May Humphreys (England), Benedetta Moresco (Italy) and 2017 ANNIKA Invitational Europe champion, Amanda Linner (Sweden).
“We’re always excited to return to my home country to host one of Europe’s best junior tournaments,” says Annika, a native of Stockholm. “The quality of play gets better and better with each passing year and our team’s very proud to continue to play a key role in developing the next generation of golfers.”
In concert with the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, the ANNIKA Foundation will also host the ANNIKA Cup, June 16-18. Founded in 2008 as the Foundation’s first junior tournament, the ANNIKA Cup is a team competition featuring 12 of Sweden’s top females ages 13-15.
Complementing the ANNIKA Invitational Europe’s 54 holes of stroke play golf will be a clinic from Annika, gala dinner and expert-led seminars covering U.S. college life and nutrition.
Adds Annika: “We couldn’t host the ANNIKA Invitational Europe year-after-year without the help of our partners, so thank you to 3M, Rolex, The R&A, AHEAD, Cutter&Buck, Mastercard and Skandia for sharing my commitment to promote girls’ golf.”
The ANNIKA Foundation is devoted to growing the game of golf around the world. In addition to the ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup, it annually hosts four other girls-only tournaments: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex, ANNIKA Invitational Mission Hills (China), ANNIKA Invitational Latin America (Uruguay) and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia (New Zealand). At the college level, it hosts the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M every year in Minnesota.
Since the inaugural Foundation Invitational – 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 Foundationn 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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