METAMORA – Annika Sorenstam wants to help women make a name for themselves in the ranks of professional golf development.
So one of the biggest in the sport has put her name all over the Women’s All Pro Tour. The WKeynoteUSAT is now known as the Annika Tour in 2024.
And golfers like Krista Junkkari are proud to be a part of that. She was among the competitors in the Annika Tour event who joined the men’s side for the 2024 OSF Children’s Hospital Illinois Championship on Tuesday in Metamora.
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The 72-hole tournament will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Metamora Fields Golf Club and in Peoria at WeaverRidge Golf Club.
“This puts us all on a bigger stage,” Junkkari, 24, said during the pro-am in Metamora. “In my opinion, Annika Sorenstam is the greatest golfer in history. Many of us dream of having a career like hers.
“I first met her when I was a senior in college and attended a question and answer session for her. She was an inspiration.”
Sorenstam agreed to partner with WKeynoteUSAT last summer for a rebranded tour that will begin this season. She put her name on the tour, invested her legacy in the Annika Foundation and is dedicated to helping women develop in golf.
“I am thrilled to embark on this journey with the Women’s All Pro Tour,” Sorenstam said in a statement from the Annika Foundation last July. “I firmly believe that the best way to improve your game and prepare for the next level is to play on a circuit with great competition.
“By joining forces with the WKeynoteUSAT, we have a unique opportunity to further solidify an incredibly important platform that has already advanced the professional careers of so many talented players.”
Ambassador Krista Junkkari
Junkkari is originally from Kouvola, Finland, and was a golf star at the University of North Carolina. She finished her career after the 2022-23 season as UNC’s fourth-best all-time stroke average at 73.89.
She landed at the Annika Foundation when she was named one of its four inaugural Annika Development Program ambassadors in May 2023.
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The program’s mission is to take rising golfers who no longer have college eligibility and provide them with opportunities to develop toward a professional career. As an ambassador, Junkkari has access to practice and play at Old Barnwell Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina, while receiving training from his professional staff. Ambassadors receive housing during their first year and a $10,000 stipend each year to cover tournament fees and travel expenses. Sorenstam acts as her mentor and the women must play with club members and participate in clinics for girls.
“Entering the program is very important to me,” Junkkari said in 2023. “It feels like the perfect next step in my career and a smoother transition into a professional career than I had imagined would be possible.
“Turning pro has always been described to me as a time of uncertainty, and coming into the (Annika) program gave me a good sense of direction and a foundation on what I can start to build on over the next few years.”
Building a professional future in Metamora
Junkkari began his quest for a $30,000 first-place prize on Wednesday, when he teed off in Metamora. The tournament schedule rotates players each day between Metamora Fields and WeaverRidge in Peoria to offer different challenges.
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Sorenstam won 97 tournaments as a professional, including 72 on the LPGA Tour. She won the US Women’s Open in 1995, 1996 and 2006, the Women’s British Open in 2004 and the Women’s PGA Championship in 2003, 2004 and 2005. She is in the World Golf Hall of Fame and last October became the first LPGA player to be a member of Augusta National Golf Club.
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“It’s exciting to be here, I think being on the Annika Tour, and what her name means to all of us, and competing on this tour to that standard is great,” Junkkari said after warming up on the Metamora course. Tuesday. “It’s very comfortable here. I’m a bit of a country girl at heart, I had a lot of fun last night with my boarding family here in Metamora, in the cornfields and chasing fireflies in the garden.”
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star’s sports columnist covering Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and the Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
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