Orlando, FL | Annika Sörenstam wasn’t on TV much when Yana Beeli, 18, was growing up in Switzerland. Sörenstam retired from the LPGA at the end of 2008, long before Beeli got into the game. It’s hard for Beeli to put a finger on when she first became aware of Sörenstam, a World Golf Hall of Famer who won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, and yet she can’t imagine not knowing her.
“You just hear from her; I don’t know,” Beeli said by way of explanation. “If you’re in the world of golf, if you’re a girl playing – probably it was my coach or someone who said she’s the greatest of all time. So, I kind of got into it and kind of got to know her. But I’m not sure when that exactly was.”
Just like a whole generation of girls, Beeli knows Sörenstam, 53, as a tournament host, mentor and champion for women’s golf thanks to the lineup of tournaments she hosts for girls in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Australasia region. Sörenstam is hands-on in her mission to create more opportunities for female golfers worldwi…