Annika Sorenstam announces her retirement

ONCE, she was too shy to even try to win a tournament because she was afraid she would have to give a speech. Annika Sorenstam has proven a lot to herself and everyone else since then: playing well in a men's PGA Tour event, winning 10 majors and becoming one of the most dominant players in the history of women's golf.

Now she has proved one more thing: that she has the strength to say goodbye.

Sorenstam, 37, has announced she will retire after this season to pursue other interests. Top of the list is the desire to start a family. "This is something that came from the heart," she said at the Sybase Classic in Clifton, New Jersey.

A winner of 72 women's pro tour events, including three US women's opens, a player who once shot 59 in a competitive round, Sorenstam said she intended to have one last shot at overtaking Lorena Ochoa and reclaiming the world No.1 spot.

"I have other priorities in my life. I have a lot of dreams I want to follow, that I want to live," she said.

Those dreams include spending more time on her golf academy, her charitable foundation, course design business, clothing line and tournament-hosting duties.

Her last event will be the Dubai Ladies Masters in December, after which she will marry fiance, golf agent Mike McGee, in January.

"This is obviously a very difficult decision for me to make, because I love this game very much," she said. "But I know it's the right one. I'm leaving the game on my own terms."

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Golf: 2007 Year in Review (Part 5)

By Jim Brighters, Sports Network, The Sports Network

'Twas a Bad Year for

Sergio Garcia - Coughing up the British Open in his best chance to win a major is one thing. Crying afterwards about waiting for rakers and getting no break from hitting the stick in the playoff makes you sound petty and far from ready to win a major

Michelle Wie - Quickly becoming irrelevant, but maybe you can blame the slide on wrist injuries and Stanford.

Nick Price - His rookie year on the Champions Tour was nothing special. He posted only two top 10s, including a third at the Senior PGA Championship. Price was not that far off his game when his 50th birthday came up, so '07 was surprisingly bad.

Mouths - Rory Sabbatini and Woody Austin called out Tiger Woods. Dumb. Dottie Pepper essentially blows her chance to be U.S. Solheim Cup captain with a "choking freaking dogs" comment that made it onto the air. Gary Player blindly stated he was told by someone that players were on steroids. Nick Faldo bickered with Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley about the Ryder Cup, which was only 11 months away at the time. And there was Garcia crying about his bad breaks. Everyone shut up and play!

Annika Sorenstam - Disc problems in her neck and back caused some serious problems. However, finishing without an LPGA Tour victory and coming in 25th on the LPGA Tour money list is inexcusable. Maybe everyone built her into Super Woman (did I make that up?), but Sorenstam would like to put 2007 in her rear-view mirror.

John Daly - It's bad enough when you made the cut in just eight of 24 starts and withdrew six times due to rib injuries. Not having your tour card is equally bad. Getting stabbed my your ex-wife makes the year a real downer.