Annika Sorenstam - August 30, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Aug 30, 2012 7:55 AM ET

World Golf Hall of Fame Member Annika Sorenstam is in Sweden this week for her ANNIKA Invitational. Earlier this week, she was named an Assistant Captain for the 2013 European Solheim Cup team. She had the chance to serve in that role for Alison Nicholas in 2011 and it was a great honor to be in that role so she is very excited to be able to help Liselotte Neumann’s team in 2013. She has told Neumann that she will do everything she can to help her as well as help the players. Annika said that she looks forward to talking to the players about match play and how to handle the Solheim Cup pressure.

When asked about 15-year-old Lydia Ko’s win in the CN Canadian Women’s Open. While her win is certainly very impressive, 15 is very young and it is amazing to see how good Lydia is and how experienced she is at a very young age. While everyone has a different path to a career in professional golf, she tends to support the idea that all players should have a childhood and be able to enjoy it before becoming an adult.

The game is growing all over the world and the fact is that players are getting better at a faster rate than even when she was growing up. It is exciting to watch as it inspires kids from all over the world to work harder and get better. As the talent level increases, more players are inspired to compete and then turn pro at younger ages but again, young players should not sacrifice some great life experiences for the life of a tour pro at such a young age. Having balance in your life will make you a better professional when the time is right.

If her daughter Ava wanted to become a professional golfer at a young age, Annika said that she was not sure what she would do but she knew that she would encourage her daughter to enjoy her childhood and have a sense of balance in her life. The life of a tour pro will be there for players when they are adults so they should not rush into that career.