Swedish superstar storms the fairways

NOBODY tries to throw her out of car parks these days. Four years ago, a fresh-faced Swedish golfer arrived to play in a US LPGA tournament at Moon Valley to be met by a more-than-my-job's-worth car park attendant who refused to believe she was a player.

"You're too young," he told Annika Sorenstam, who was still an amateur.

Nowadays, Sorenstam is one of the most instantly recognised personalities in American sport. Five feet six, blonde hair, blue eyes. A marketing man's dream, the 25-year-old European Solheim Cup star has a string of endorsements which include Callaway and Titleist. Her face jumps out of the pages of golfing magazines and TV ads. And, into the bargain, she is, of course, a winner.

Last Sunday, Sorenstam's status as a superstar of modern golf was confirmed when she became the first non-American to win back-to-back US Women's Open titles with her runaway success at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Her 72-hole total of eight-under-par 272 was the lowest in tournament history, and gave Sorenstam a six-shot win over Kris Tschetter. The margin was the largest at the US Open since 1982, when Janet Anderson also recorded a six-stroke triumph.

Not had for the former University of Arizona college kid whose initial impression of the US LPGA was that official at the Turquoise Classic in Moon Valley who refused to believe she was old enough to play in a tournament. On that occasion, amateur Sorenstam went on to finish third among her paid colleagues and give a glimpse of the talent which awaited the Tour.

Sorenstam's impact has been immense. Last season, golf's golden girl became the first player to top the Order of Merit on both sides of the Atlantic in the same year, she earned over £500,000 in prize money and collected a string of awards, including becoming the first woman to win Golf World's player of the year, a feat achieved in a year when Europe's men regained the Ryder Cup.

After Sunday's runaway US Open win, Sorenstam commented: "It is a wonderful feeling to win this championship. Once was wonderful. To win it twice is more than wonderful. I was in the zone, I had nothing to lose."

The zone. It is an area which Sorenstam relates to whenever the scent of victory arrives. "It feels as if nothing can go wrong," she once remarked. "I am in control of all situations, playing golf is a piece of cake.

It is a nice feeling."

Indeed, Sorenstam compares it to the robotic, baseline performances of some Swedish tennis players. "I guess you could call me a baseline grinder," was one description she used in self-analysis. "Usually after 72 holes I feel I would like to play more. I think I would enjoy a six-day bike race.

When she won the 1995 US Open at The Broadmoor - beating Meg Mallon by a shot to claim her first US LPGA crown - some suggested her opponent had lost it rather than Sorenstam winning it. There could be no such suggestion after her emphatic win at Southern Pines.

"When I arrived at the course, I had a little stomach ache, butterflies all over," she recalled. "I knew I was playing well and I knew the golf course. The question was, `Can I play good when I need to?'. Fortunately. I could.

"I was real nervous on the 18th tee," confessed Sorenstam. "I knew I had a five or six shot lead, but it is never over until it is over. But once I hit the green on my third shot, I knew I could two-putt or three-putt from there. Last year I came from behind, and I think I won because Meg (Mallon) made mistakes. This year, I think I won because I played well."

Sorenstam, indeed, was the only player under par in all four rounds. And even if the Americans remain just a little open-mouthed at her technique (she hits the ball after she's lifted her head), that bemusement has been replaced by genuine admiration.

A product of the American scholarship system, Sorenstam first started to play golf as a 12-year-old in Stockholm and represented Sweden from 1987 until she turned professional in 1992, shortly after winning the world amateur title.

But it is since turning professional that Sorenstam has emerged as a worldwide star. "Everyone wants me to play in their tournament," she said, after claiming her first US Open title.

She was 1993 Rookie of the Year on the European Tour, which included playing in the Ford Ladies Challenge at Woodbrook, and then repeated the feat to become 1994 Rookie of the Year on the US Tour.

Within another 12 months, Sorenstam was a record maker rather than breaker. Sorenstam's performances around the globe in 1995 catapulted her into orbit: she topped the US LPGA Tour in earnings with $666,533 and also finished number one on the WPG European Tour with prize money of £130,324. And she never missed a cut.

With a second US Open, and marriage on the horizon, 1996 looks as if it could he even better.