No. 5 Team in the Country Joins Six Other Top-10 Programs to Battle for One of NCAA Golf’s Biggest Titles Sept. 12-15 at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The ANNIKA Foundation – golf Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam’s charitable organization – announces the defending NCAA Division I women’s golf champion, Ole Miss, has been added to the field as the 12th and final team for the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
The seventh edition of the tournament returns to Lake Elmo, Minnesota’s Royal Golf Club September 12-15. Joining Ole Miss are the top-three teams in the current Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: No. 1-ranked Duke, No. 2. South Carolina and No. 3 (and defending ANNIKA Intercollegiate champions) Wake Forest. Additional top-10 standouts are No. 6 LSU, No. 8 USC and No. 10 Arizona State.
“We’re excited to once again welcome such a strong field to Royal Golf Club for the 2021 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M,” says Annika, the 1991 NCAA women’s champion while a freshman at Arizona. “College golf played a huge part in my successful transition to the LPGA Tour and I’m honored to be able to give back to today’s generation with the help of our wonderful partner, 3M.”
Rounding out this year’s field are traditional powerhouses Alabama, Arizona, Texas and UCLA, plus host school Minnesota. The tournament has been played in St. Paul, 3M’s corporate headquarters, since 2017.
Royal Golf Club features a front nine (The Queen’s Nine) designed by Annika, and a back nine (The King’s Nine) designed by Arnold Palmer. It was Annika’s first U.S. golf course design project. Rolling hills, mature trees and abundant wildlife provide a scenic backdrop for what has become a wonderful home for the event.
Annika’s involvement with NCAA women’s golf extends to the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel. Now in its ninth year, it is presented to the nation’s most outstanding female collegiate player as voted on by players, coaches and members of the golf media. Its illustrious list of past winners features Rachel Heck (2021, Stanford), Natalie Srinivasan (2020, Furman), Maria Fassi (2018 and 2019, Arkansas), Leona Maguire (2015 and 2017, Duke), Bronte Law (2016, UCLA) and Alison Lee (2014, UCLA). Heck, the 2021 ANNIKA Award winner, will be honored during tournament week.
The ANNIKA Foundation is devoted to growing the game of golf around the world. In addition to its involvement with the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and ANNIKA Award, it hosts six girls-only invitational tournaments on five continents: the Diamond Resorts ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex, 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.
Since the inaugural Foundation tournament – the 2009 ANNIKA Invitational USA – 60 ANNIKA event alumnae have earned LPGA cards. Thirty-seven alumnae competed in the 2021 ANA Inspiration including the winner, Patty Tavatanakit.