Five Stops are Planned Across the United States and Sweden
The ANNIKA Foundation has released the 2022 schedule for its “Share My Passion” girls golf clinics.
This year’s clinics will kick off in May during the week of the PGA TOUR Champions’ Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Country Club outside Houston. It will be followed by a June clinic in Sweden at Vasatorp Golf Club the week of the ANNIKA Invitational Europe. In July, Annika and team will return to TPC Twin Cities to host one during the PGA TOUR’s 3M Open, while in August she will bring one to NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio where she will defend her U.S. Senior Women’s Open title. Finally, exact timing of a fall event at Las Vegas’ Southern Highlands Golf Club will be confirmed later this year.
To participate in a Share My Passion clinic, girls between the ages of six and 14 who live near the host sites are invited to write an open letter to Annika telling her why they love golf, and why other girls should learn how to play. Annika and her team will then invite authors of the most-compelling notes to attend a clinic headlined by the 10-time major champion and winner of 72 LPGA events.
The day begins with a healthy lunch, followed by groups rotating through stations taught by Annika and instructors covering the fundamentals of driving, putting and the importance of fitness. After that, Annika meets with the girls to discuss topics ranging from the best approach to pre-round warmups to course management to shot execution. A photo and autograph session will then close out the festivities.
“I love having the opportunity to speak with these groups of girls about golf, nutrition and the value of hard work,” says Annika. “It’s the fifth year of our Share My Passion series and I’m looking forward to it being the best one yet.”
“We are proud to partner with Annika and her Foundation to grow the game of golf among girls through the Share My Passion clinics,” says Judson McNeil, President of The Toro Company Foundation. “As much as those participating learn from Annika we too learn from them in hearing their stories and the positive impact playing golf has on their lives.”
In addition to Toro, support from AHEAD, Mastercard, and Dan and Sallie Dutton are integral to the growth and ongoing success of the clinics.
The ANNIKA Foundation is devoted to growing the game of golf around the world. It hosts six girls-only invitational tournaments: the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex (United States), ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup (Sweden), ANNIKA Invitational Mission Hills (China), ANNIKA Invitational Australasia (New Zealand) and the Women’s Amateur Latin America Championship presented by The R&A and ANNIKA Foundation (Argentina). They are complemented by the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, a 12-team college tournament, and the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, which is annually bestowed to the most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer.
Since the inaugural Foundation tournament – the 2009 ANNIKA Invitational USA – 87 ANNIKA event alumnae have earned LPGA cards. Three of the five 2021 major champions – Patty Tavatanakit, Yuka Saso and Nelly Korda – are ANNIKA alumnae.
The full 2022 Share My Passion schedule is below:
May 1, 2022 – The Woodlands, Texas
Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands Country Club – Tournament Course
June 14 or 15, 2021 – Helsingborg, Sweden
ANNIKA Invitational Europe, Vasatorp Golf Club
July 18, 2022 – Minneapolis
3M Open, TPC Twin Cities
August 23, 2022 – Kettering, Ohio
U.S. Senior Women’s Open, NCR Country Club
Fall 2022 – Las Vegas
Southern Highlands Golf Club