Golf is so unpredictable. Last year, you won half of the 20 tournaments you played. This season hasn't started as well and you missed a cut for the first time in four years. How do you explain the change?
I was definitely disappointed with my results at the first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and at the Michelob ULTRA Open. Nothing really happened for me. Sometimes you prepare as well as you think you should, and then the tournament starts and things happen you have no control over. I always say, once the ball leaves the clubface, it's on its own and I can't control it from there. It's similar to driving a car; sometimes you go out and hit every green light and the next day you go out and every light is red.
Does that lack of control ever frustrate you?
Not really. That's golf. It's why I enjoy the game so much. One time you think you have it, the next time you think you're doing the same thing and the results are different. You have to try to make the most of it. The first day of the Nabisco, I shot 71. If?I had lost my patience and played more aggressively, I might have shot 74. It's all about making the most of what you have that day.
You've won 67 LPGA Tour titles, 21 short of Kathy Whitworth's record of 88 wins. Is reaching that number your focus, or is it winning majors?
I guess I'm getting a little picky now. When I look at my career, I'd like to see the number of major titles increase. That's what keeps me motivated. After the Nabisco, I said to myself, "Okay, you didn't win the first major of the year, but there are three more." I've never won three in a year.
When you look back, what's been the greatest moment of your career so far? I think I can guess …
Definitely playing the [PGA Tour's] Bank of America Colonial [in 2003]. I decided to play in January of that year, so it was about four months of preparation: the physical training, working on the short game, preparing to deal with all the tension and expectations of playing in a men's event. I learned how you deal with pressure and how to trust yourself and execute the shot you have in mind. Now when I play in a major I get excited, but I also feel I have the experience to handle it. I feel very comfortable. I know what to do.
You recently went through a divorce [from David Esch]. How did you deal with that?
Well, I think there are certain things in your life you can control and some you can't. I'm a person who gives 100 percent; that's why I never give up. So for me it felt like a little bit of a failure. But now I look back at it, and you can only give what you can give. It takes effort to work on a relationship, but when it's not working, it's not working. I think that's one thing I learned, that sometimes it's okay to let go.
Amazingly, you had two of your best years during that period. How did you do that?
Even though things were hard off the course, I was very much in control of my shots on the course. That was very important to me. When I was playing golf, I was doing something I enjoy; I saw results and that made me happy. It was positive. It was a way of getting away from all the other stuff. I'm lucky that I had something in my life that I enjoy so much.
You know, if you think about the big picture of life and what so many people go through, comparatively, this was nothing. I thought, "Annika, you can handle this. The bottom line is that you're healthy and you're doing something you love, so go through this and learn from it."
Now you have someone new in your life. Who is he? How did you meet?
His name is Mike McGee. He's a sports agent and the son of Jerry McGee, the PGA Tour pro. We've known each other for about six years. We reconnected last fall, and now things are good. Everything seems to be falling together.
- Text Size:
- Small Text
- Medium Text
- Large Text
