WEST PALM BEACH, FL--It wasn't until this past weekend that Annika Sorenstam clinched a spot in the ADT Championship. That alone speaks to what kind of year it's been for Sorenstam on the golf course.

Plagued by back and neck injuries, Sorenstam needs a victory this weekend to avoid her first winless season on the LPGA Tour since her rookie year in 1994. In 12 starts, she has six top-10 finishes, including a playoff loss to Meaghan Francella at the MasterCard Classic back in March, but has rarely been in contention. Her best finish in the four majors was a tie for 15th at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, which was only her second event back after missing two months of action with a ruptured disk in her neck.

"It is not the kind of year you want to put on a resume," Sorenstam said Tuesday from Trump International Golf Club, site of the LPGA's version of the playoffs. "But having said that, it's been a tough year with the injury. It really kind of set me back. I've only played 12 times, and I would probably say that five of those 12 I've been competitive. I mean, not even to my full potential.

"So in that regard, I'm not so worried about not having a win," she continued. "You cannot win if you're not 100 percent, and it's tough to win even when you are. This year is just a matter of me getting past it and being ready for next year."

Next year can't come soon enough for Sorenstam, who was nearly invincible during a five-year stretch from 2001 through 2005, winning 43 times. In 2006 she slumped to three wins, but one of them was her third U.S. Women's Open title. Now, the world's former No. 1-ranked player is seeking a return to the top spot she lost in April to reigning No. 1 Lorena Ochoa.

"I love the competition. Not being competitive [this year] and not playing is something I missed," said Sorenstam, who owns 69 career LPGA titles. "I would say that it hurts that I couldn't perform  on the level that I know how. It hurts when you cannot practice the way you want, or when you don't hit the shots that you've been hitting for years. So that motivates me, that makes me want to get back on top because that's where I enjoy being."

Off the course, however, it's been a wonderful year for Annika the brand. In addition to getting engaged to her business manager, Mike McGee, she opened a teaching and fitness facility, The ANNIKA Academy, designed golf courses, helped build her own website and became a national ambassador for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And on Wednesday, she debuted her own blog.

While her business ventures remain important to her, she's made it clear to everyone involved that golf takes top priority in 2008. If next year indeed turns out to be Sorenstam's last full season on the LPGA Tour, which has been widely speculated, she plans to go out on top.

"I got the team together about four weeks ago, and I told everybody that I'm going to step away early next year and just focus on the golf," Sorenstam said. "So, hopefully, everybody will pick up a little piece of what I'm doing and help me out.

"I do think the hardest part is for me to let go," she added. "I'm kind of a control freak and want to be part of everything and want to know what's going on. It's going to be more of an adjustment for me than for the team to help out. But they are willing to do it, and they know that [getting back on top] is important to me."