Annika Watch 2008: SBS Open

This season will certainly be a landmark in the Hall of Fame career of Annika Sorenstam. Last year, she went winless for the first time since her rookie campaign. She suffered a neck and back injury that kept her on the shelf for months and built rust on her game when she returned. Annika also became the host of a tournament, owner of a golf academy, and continues to try to build her "brand" as her playing career apparently gets nearly the twilight.

So, it is with a close eye that we should watch this season for Annika. Will she win again? Can she get close to Lorena Ochoa in the world rankings and approach her in terms of LPGA Tour dominance?

Well, we got some idea yesterday in the first round of the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. Her first round 70 left her three off the pace.

[S]he could be sitting in a tie for second had she not hit a wayward drive into a bunker and followed that one shot later with a poor chip that led to a two-putt double bogey. But when asked about the par-4 flub, the former world No. 1 player waved it off like an annoying fly.

"You know what, I'm not going to take one hole back," Sorenstam said. "I played excellent all day. Just one missed shot all day, so ... ."

Doesn't bother you?

"No, not a bit," Sorenstam said. "Two under, I'm very pleased. I thought it was tough today. I hit a lot of good shots, I'm very happy. It's not easy to come out after two months of break. I worked a lot on my swing. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. I'm very pleased. So, like I said, I'm taking a lot of positive out of today."

We will see where this weekend takes Annika, but it looks like she feels encouraged after playing her first event since the LET Dubai Ladies Masters finale.