Professional tour to be renamed ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour beginning in 2024.
Partnership advances ANNIKA Foundation’s mission to further develop and empower young women through the game of golf.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sörenstam and the Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT) are announcing a strategic alliance set to begin in 2024.
The tour will be renamed the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour when the 2024 season kicks off in February, paying tribute to Annika’s impressive legacy and continued contributions to the game. Annika’s passion for advancing women’s golf, including through the ANNIKA Foundation, aligns seamlessly with the WAPT’s mission to nurture talent, provide a platform for growth, and foster the next generation of LPGA and Epson Tour players.
“I am thrilled to embark on this journey with the Women’s All Pro Tour,” Annika said. “I firmly believe the best way to improve your game and prepare for the next level is by playing on a tour with great competition. By joining forces with the WAPT, we have a unique opportunity to further solidify an incredibly important platform that has already advanced the professional playing careers of so many talented players.”
Founded in 2019, the WAPT has established itself as a standout professional tour by offering 72-hole events and elite competition. Over the past two seasons, 75% of the Top 10 season finishers have advanced to the LPGA or Epson Tour. Grace Kim—a two-time WAPT winner in 2021—won her first LPGA event in April, the third start of her rookie season. Miranda Wang—the top finisher in the 2022 WAPT season—earned her first Epson Tour win in March 2023.
“Welcoming Annika as a partner is an extraordinary milestone for our tour and the women’s golf community as a whole,” said DeSerrano, president, WAPT. “Her influence, expertise, and passion for the game will add to the WAPT’s momentum. We look forward to co-creating a future that provides more opportunities for women to pursue their dreams of playing on the LPGA Tour.”
The ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour marks the second major developmental initiative announced by the ANNIKA Foundation this year. In May, the Foundation named its inaugural class of ambassadors for the ANNIKA Development Program at Old Barnwell Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. The program furthers the Foundation’s mission to provide opportunities for women to excel in both golf and life by providing an avenue for a select group of up-and-coming golfers who are no longer NCAA eligible to continue their pursuit of a professional career.
For more information about the Women’s All Pro Tour, visit wapt.golf.
For more information about the ANNIKA Foundation, visit: www.annikafoundation.org.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation (www.annikafoundation.org) to develop and empower the next generation of women around the world through the game of golf. More specifically, it provides opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of personal development, including 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, and an endowment of the AJGA’s ACE Grant program.
The ANNIKA Foundation annually conducts several “Share My Passion” grassroots clinics designed to introduce kids to the game. It also conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex, in the U.S.; ANNIKA Invitational Asia; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; the Women’s Amateur Latin America, with the R&A in Argentina; and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia in New Zealand. Since 2014, the Foundation has annually hosted the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, a women’s college tournament featuring 12 top Division I schools. Moreover, with the support of the Haskins Foundation, the Foundation created the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, which is given annually to the best collegiate female golfer. In 2022, the ANNIKA Development Program was created to support recent college graduates pursue their dreams of playing professional golf. The Foundation also will be the main beneficiary of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, a new tournament tradition that will begin on the LPGA Tour November 6-12, 2023.
About the Women’s All Pro Tour
Established in 2019, the WAPT represents one of the best development opportunities for female golf professionals to hone their competitive skills while preparing for a life on the Epson and LPGA Tours. Through its partnership with the LPGA, the WAPT is the official qualifying tour of the Epson Tour and provides opportunities each week for players to earn exemptions to select Epson Tour events. At the end of each season, the top five points winners on the Race To Stage II earn advancement directly to Stage II of LPGA qualifying.
The WAPT annually conducts an 11-12 event schedule of 72-hole professional tournaments with a full week of activities to emulate an Epson Tour or LPGA Tour event, including media day, pro-ams, sponsor-player parties, and clinics. The tour is designed to encourage its athletes’ physical and mental growth on and off the course. Follow the WAPT online at www.wapt.golf, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Further information:
Matt O’Keefe, Exponent
+1 (763) 228-2210
matt.okeefe@exponentpr.com
Rob Ohno, President and CEO, ANNIKA Foundation
+1 (904) 616-0558
robo@annikafoundation.org
