Texas, Oct 10: Annika Sorenstam at least got her birthday cake. The other half of Thursday's celebration -- finally getting into the World Golf Hall of Fame -- had to wait another day when the first round of the Samsung World Championship was washed out by heavy rains.
``I guess the sun is supposed to shine when I get in,'' Sorenstam said with a laugh. ``Maybe tomorrow.''
Sorenstam, 33, took care of the golf requirements for the Hall of Fame at the start of the 2000 season, but she still had to put in 10 years on the LPGA Tour to be eligible.
The Samsung Championship is her 15th event of the season, officially marking her 10th year, and all she had to do was play 18 holes -- on her birthday, no less. Instead, she never made it off the first tee.
Sorenstam ducked under an umbrella on the practice green, smiled and waved to fans who wished her ``Happy Birthday'' as she walked to the first tee. Minutes later, she was headed to the clubhouse.



``It was going to be a special day, and it was such a coincidence that it was my birthday,'' she said. ``But it will happen eventually.''



It could have been worse. The other players in the 20-woman field who started the first round had to slosh in from the rain; she stayed dry. And The Woodlands girls golf team, three-time state champions, presented her with a food basket, flowers, a card, a handmade poster (with ink smudged by the rain) and a cake that could have fed the entire field.



``I don't know if I've inspired them with my cooking or golf,'' said Sorenstam, who worked as a chef in the offseason. Sorenstam pretended to blow out candles that weren't on the cake, and then made it clear that ``Hall of Famer'' doesn't always apply to those close to retirement.



``I'm still in my prime,'' she said. ``To be in the Hall of Fame, it kind of makes me sound old. But I feel younger than ever.''



Even after she finishes her first round Friday on the TPC at The Woodlands, she said it might not sink in. She still has a tournament to win, and the Samsung is one of 13 tournaments she has had to defend this year.



The big moment is Oct. 20 in St. Augustine, Fla., when Sorenstam is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame along with Nick Price, Leo Diegel and Chako Higuchi. Sorenstam will be the 100th member and 21st LPGA player in the Hall of Fame. She also has a party planned with the LPGA on Nov. 24 to celebrate the occasion.



``I've got some big days, busy months ahead,'' she said. It's already been a year to remember. In May, she became the first woman in 58 years on the PGA Tour when she played at the Colonial on a sponsor's exemption, missing the cut with respectable rounds of 72-75 and earning universal praise for how she handled the circuslike atmosphere. The idea was to challenge herself and prepare her for majors, and it worked. Sorenstam won the LPGA Championship and the Women's British Open to become only the sixth LPGA player to complete the career Grand Slam.



Then, she led Europe to victory in the Solheim Cup, the first time it was played in her native Sweden. All that remains is the Hall of Fame.



The LPGA changed its criteria four years ago, fearing no one else would get into the Hall of Fame under such stringent standards -- 40 victories and no majors; 35 victories and one major; or 30 victories and multiple majors.



The new requirement is 27 points, with one point each for a victory, player of the year award and Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. Majors count for two points. If the same criteria applied on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods is the only active player who would qualify.



Sorenstam reached 27 points by winning in Tucson, Ariz., in February 2000. All she had to do was wait -- so one more day is not going to matter. Besides, there are always tournaments to be won.



``It's been a waiting period, obviously,'' she said. ``But while the Hall of Fame was a goal of mine for my whole career, I still wanted to win tournaments, win more majors. It's not like I was just waiting around. I wanted to achieve my other goals and move forward.''



Sorenstam wasn't even the best on the LPGA Tour when she reached 27 points. At the time, Karrie Webb was No. 1 in women's golf and winning most of the majors. That inspired Sorenstam to work harder, and now she has no peer.



She became the first woman to shoot 59 in Phoenix two years ago, and later that year became the first woman to surpass $2 million in a season. Last year, her 13 victories worldwide were the most by any player -- male or female -- in nearly 40 years. This might be the most memorable year of them all.



``A lot of nice things are happening,'' she said. ``I just want to enjoy the moment.''


Bureau Report