Sorenstam dominating the LPGA tour

Granted, Annika Sorenstam doesn't have trophies from four major championships sitting on her coffee table.

By any other measurement, Annika the Great stacks up just fine with Tiger Woods.

Tournaments won? Sorenstam has five victories this year, including a major, compared to three and a major for Woods. Both have played in eight events.

Scoring average? The 30-year-old Swede is at 68.89 per round -- exactly the same as Woods.

Average finish? Woods is slightly better, 5.75, but it must be noted that Sorenstam's 6.5 cumulative includes a 43rd at the Longs Drugs Challenge, which ended her four-tournament winning streak. Otherwise, she has been first or second in every event she's played.

Indeed, golf has become a two-person game, with Woods dominating on the men's side and Sorenstam transforming the rest of the LPGA Tour into a bunch of weekend hackers.

She rallied from a four-shot deficit with six holes to play Sunday at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, stringing together five birdies and a par to force a playoff with defending tournament champion Sophie Gustafson.

On the second extra hole, Gustafson hit a shot into the water, allowing Sorenstam to win with a two-putt par. Afterward, there were the inevitable comparisons.

"I would love to play Tiger,'' Sorenstam said, assuming she hits from the shorter women's tees. "I like playing with the guys overall. It's a lot of fun to see how they play and approach the game. You can learn something.''

Woods became the first male golfer to hold all four major professional titles at the same time with his April victory at The Masters. But he's never shot a 59, which Sorenstam did this year in becoming the first woman to break 60.

"I think I'm doing pretty good,'' she said. "It's kind of apples and oranges, though. It's early in the season and isn't like we've already played 25 tournaments, just eight. It's not right to compare yet.''

Sorenstam is just one victory short of her career high, set in 1997 -- and it's only the first week of May. She is on pace to win 13 tournaments this year, which would equal Mickey Wright's LPGA record set in 1963, an era when the tour was still in its formative stages and not nearly as deep as it is today.

"I have goals, definitely,'' said Sorenstam, who has 28 victories overall. "I'm not going to say how many tournaments I'd like to win, but I am on the right track.''

When it comes to their playing styles, Woods and Sorenstam could hardly be more different.

He overwhelms the course with power and feeds off emotion, whether its pumping a fist defiantly after making a big putt or cursing himself loudly when things aren't going right.

She is more methodical, beating her opponents with consistency and smart decisions while rarely displaying more than a girlish smile and hesitant wave for the gallery.

"I grew up with computers since my father worked for IBM,'' Sorenstam said. "I love to crunch numbers. I look at how many fairways I hit, how many greens I hit. I plan my way around the golf course.

"That's pretty much the way I am at everything. At home, I'm making lists all the time. It drives my husband crazy.''

Sorenstam isn't the robot she appears to be, however.

"I'm not totally calm,'' she said. "This means a lot to me. I still get nervous and a little shaky. I still want to win. I have experience and I've been in this position lots of times. I know what it takes, what shots it takes to win. But just because you've been there, it's not automatic.''

Try telling that to those she keeps beating week after week.

"What's scary about her is that she doesn't make mistakes,'' Gustafson said. "You know you've got to beat her. She's not going to crumble.''

Sorenstam has been a multi-winner on the LPGA Tour every year since 1995 while becoming the first woman with $7 million in career earnings.

She was eclipsed the last two years by Australian Karrie Webb, who totaled 13 victories while Sorenstam was winning seven times. But the Swede has clearly regained the upper hand in that rivalry.

"Golf is such a confidence game,'' said Hall of Famer Beth Daniel, who finished one shot out of the playoff Sunday. "When you have confidence, you feel like you're going to win every week.

"Annika is just full of confidence right now.''

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