Annika Sorenstam is returning to Colonial Country Club on the 20th anniversary of her landmark appearance in Fort Worth as the keynote speaker of this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge Executive Women’s Day luncheon on March 23.
The LPGA Hall-of-Fame legend, one of golf’s greatest female players, will reminisce about her historic experience at Colonial’s annual PGA Tour event and share information about her new passion, the ANNIKA Foundation which she created in 2008. The foundation was designed to develop and empower the next generation of women around the world through the game of golf by providing opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate, and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of personal development, including living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition.
Organizers said they were confident the event would raise $50,000 to $75,000 to support two local charities whose focus is on providing services that support women and girls — The Women’s of Tarrant County and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County.
The fundraising campaign, “Help A Sister Out,” is a collaboration between a newly announced partnership of Executive Women’s Day and Fort Worth Colonial Charities, the Charles Schwab Challenge’s fundraising arm.
The luncheon is sold out. For information on securing sponsorship tickets to Executive Women’s Day 2024 or donating to the “Help A Sister Up” fundraising campaign, go to CharlesSchwabChallenge.com.
“This year presented an opportunity to establish a new direction for EWD’s singular luncheon event,” said Julie Butner, Executive Women’s Day chair, in a statement. “EWD has evolved into three separate events, all of which generate funds for local nonprofit organizations to support women and girls in our local community.
“EWD sponsors are involved in the selection of local nonprofit charities that align with our vision to ‘Help a Sister Up.’ This is an excellent example of empowering women to use their wealth and power to uplift other women and girls in our local community.”
At Colonial in 2003, Sorenstam made history — and some controversy — by becoming the first woman since 1945 to play a PGA Tour event. She didn’t make the cut, but she has called the experience “a turning point for me. It’s one of the highlights of my career.”
“I hear from parents with daughters who say it really showed them that if they have a dream, they need to follow it,” she told the Golf Channel. “I think people connected with it because they could see themselves, that if they wanted to achieve something, they have to face their fears and take the opportunities that are there for them.”
Fort Worth Colonial Charities has generated more than $185 million in cash and services for over 175 local organizations during the past two decades through the tournament’s Birdies for Charity campaign and grants, according to a press release.
“We are very excited to partner with this great business event in order to spread our charity impact even more,” said Rob Hood, president of Fort Worth Colonial Charities. “The supporters of this event have really stepped up this year in this new charity effort and I believe it will only get bigger and better each year.”
