academy4

Golf's Potential "Dream Team"

This is a picture of golf's potential "Dream Team" just before they left the hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland to make their final presentation to the International Olympic Committee Executive Board for golf's inclusion in the 2016 Olympics.  Pictured from the left, "Chako Higuchi, LPGA of Japan President and World Golf Hall of Famer, Annika Sorenstam, a Global Ambassador in support of the International Golf Federation's effort, Peter Dawson, International Golf Federation Co-Secretary, Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR Executive and International Golf Federation Executive Director, Colin Montgomerie, 2010 European Ryder Cup Captain, and Tim Finchem, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR.

Good luck team!!

On the road again....

Greetings from Sweden. This is Mike and we have arrived here in Annika’s hometown of Bro and have a busy week ahead of us.  The third annual ANNIKA Cup, a golf event that the ANNIKA Foundation started to give the top 12 Swedish junior girls a chance to play a spirited team competition takes place this week….amongst many other things.  For those of you who thought our girl has slowed down, or simply came here to enjoy the wonderful Swedish summer…….think again! 

 

Here is a little peek at her schedule the next eight days…….

 

·         Monday

o    In the morning, the ANNIKA Cup Foursome matches begin at Bro Balsta Golf Club.

o    Annika is hosting  a sponsor clinic at a neighboring course, Bro Hoff Golf Club.

o    We will quickly change into formal attire and go meet with the King and Queen of Sweden at their Castle, where they will present her with a lifetime achievement award for all she has done for Sweden.  This is the second time she will be honored by the Royal Family. 

o    ANNIKA Cup Singles Matches continue in the afternoon at Bro Balsta Golf Club.

·         Tuesday

o    Early in the morning, Annika is the guest at a local business meeting at Bro Balsta Golf Club.

o    She has a meeting with the Swedish Golf Federation.

o    Media Training for the 12 participants in the ANNIKA Cup.

o    Press conference for the event and other ANNIKA brand business endeavors.

o    Individual interviews with local and national media.

o    Lunch with the juniors.

o    Photo shoot with the juniors.

o    Practice with the juniors.

o    ANNIKA Cup dinner and prize ceremony.

o    ANNIKA Cup Sponsor Am-Am awards dinner.

·         Wednesday

o    Annika will host a Cutter & Buck Day (C&B) near Stockholm.

§  Q&A with Conference delegates regarding the launch of the ANNIKA Collection in Sweden.

§  Internal meetings with the C&B team.

§  Key account meet & greet.

§  Lunch with the group.

·         Thursday

o    ANNIKA Team and potential tournament sponsor meetings.

o    We have a separate business meeting in the afternoon about an exciting possibility.

·         Friday

o    We fly to the southern part of Sweden in the morning.

o    Annika will visit a new course the Swedish PGA owns and participate in the “Grand Opening.”

o    Lunch with Swedish PGA.

o    Meet & greet with Swedish PGA key employees, members, sponsors, etc.

o    Opening Ceremony with Annika.

o    Dinner

o    Flight back to Stockholm.

·         Saturday

o    Reopening Ceremony of “Sorenstam’s Corner,” a section of Bro Balsta Golf Club that honors Annika and Charlotta and their accomplishments in golf.

o    Fly to Switzerland for meetings and Annika’s participation in the presentation the governing bodies of golf are making to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to try and get golf into the 2016 Olympics.  

·         Sunday

o    Rehearse for Annika’s participation in the presentation to the IOC. 

o    Dinner with the team.

·         Monday

o    Annika will join Tim Finchem, Colin Montgomerie and the top governing bodies of golf for their presentation to the IOC.   

o    Other business meetings in the afternoon.

·         Tuesday

o    Fly back to the US. 

 

Mixed into this schedule will be time with family, friends, and of course the daily business e-mails that are the norm.  We also hope to enjoy the taste of a few Swedish traditions…..such as meatballs and goodies (candy)……but not too much. 

 

Take care and have a great week!

Michael Allen....

I want to wish Michael Allen some luck today in the Senior PGA Championship.  I served as his agent for four years when I worked with International Golf Partners.  He is a great guy with a great family.  He strikes the ball as well as anybody on any Tour.  He went from being ready to give up the game while on the Nationwide Tour at the end of 2003 to keeping fully exempt status on the PGA Tour right up until now. Many of those years he secured his card through a high finish at the end of the year or at Q-School.  

A win today will give him fully exempt status on the Champions Tour.....which actually cracks me up. How can you be fully exempt on the PGA Tour but not get into Champions Tour events.  At any rate, I hope all of those experiences lead him to victory today.  He deserves it!

Our little girl is becoming active....

Good evening everyone.  This is Mike writing and Annika and I would like to thank all of you so much for your kind words about our little girl.  We are really excited about her and the fun that lies ahead. I think it's almost fitting with everything Annika has done for women's sports and the inspiration she has given millions of little girls!

As some of you may know, my disasters in the kitchen have been fairly well documented.  Last night I thought I would help "Mama" by making some Chicken Noodle soup with some chicken we had leftover.  Well, long story short, despite my efforts to follow the directions, the celery remained mysteriously crisp. Needless to say it wasn't the best.  Later that night when we went to bed, Annika said that she thought she felt a kick.  Sure enough, we held her stomach and it was the first noticeable movement our little one has shown us.  It was a VERY cool moment. 

Once we shut out the lights we had a big laugh that she was kicking Annika's stomach with a purpose....to keep me out of the kitchen!  Coincidence.....probably not. :)

Have a great night and Go Cavs....I mean Magic......hmmmm.

 

Update....

Greetings from LA.  This is Mike and I am in the airport waiting for my flight back to Orlando. Annika is now on her way to Korea to join Henri and Kai for an "ANNIKA Academy on the road" clinic. She then goes to the Philippines and China for Course Design visits.....busy Mama!

Our wine launch went well and we spent the past day and a half here in LA for the FOG (Friends of Golf) outing at Bel-Air Country Club.  We stayed at the Hotel Bel-Air, which was FANTASTIC!  It was the 30th year of the event that benefits junior, high school, and college golf.  Each year they have an honoree, and those have included the likes of Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, etc.  This year they honored Annika, and her Foundation.  Peter Ueberroth was also named their "Man of the Year."   

It was a special day that started with a clinic from Annika, Dave Stockton, Ken Venturi, and Duffy Waldorf, which was fun to watch.  She then went around and greeted the participants.  There was also an auction and a nice dinner.  As always, she spoke beautifully!

Have a great day!

Checking in....

Hello everyone. This is Mike and I thought I would check in. This is a busy week for us as the PGA Merchandise Show is in town.  It is the biggest get together in the golf industry as everyone unveils their new products.  Annika is at a cooking event tonight with Cutter & Buck and I'm home alone with the cats....unfortunately, they don't cook as well as their mama!  Not being too handy in the kitchen means leftover pasta.  Tomorrow night we have a dinner with Callaway. Then Thursday we'll be at the show with meetings and Annika's sponsor appearances most of the day. We have the AJGA, Callaway, the Golf Channel, Cutter & Buck, and then another dinner lined up. More of the same on Friday.  It's good we're busy, so I won't get butterflies in my stomach for the Steelers until Saturday afternoon!  Good night!

PS....this photo is the pizza I made at the US Women's Open last summer.

What a week....

Good evening everyone.  The first annual ANNIKA Invitational is complete and Simin Feng is the champion as she outlasted a stellar field at Ginn Reunion Resort. The ANNIKA Foundation hosted the event in conjunction with the AJGA, and it was a spectacular week!  Many thanks to Annika, the staff of the AJGA, the volunteers, and Selena Nobilo for your hard work!  We would like to also extend a huge THANK YOU to Rolex, Callaway Golf, The LPGA Foundation, Stanford Financial, and our other sponsors.  Instead of me gushing about how gracious Annika was with her time....which she was, I'll let you click on the following links to see what others wrote.  We'll have some more photos posted tomorrow.  Good night!

AJGA Blog

GolfWeek

The Golf Channel

Thanks for the support....

Good afternoon everyone.  Annika is safely in South Africa and probably at the course right about now.  I just wanted to thank all of you for your support. It really means a lot to us!  Your comments are heartwarming!

Terry and I are sitting here in the San Francisco airport waiting for our 12:00 flight to Orlando.  We're a little tired after a 10 hour flight, but at least we'll get home in time to see most of the Steelers' game tonight!  We have shared a lot of laughs, stories about Annika, and even some tears of joy the past 36 hours.  It is really cool to hear his insight on the success that they have shared together...over 65 wins worldwide!!  They have to go down as one of the best teams in golf history!  They have gone to battle so many times together and share a bond that is truly special. 

Anyways, we are absolutely blessed to be a part of Annika's life.  She continues to provide memories and inspirational experiences for everyone she encounters.  Not only is she the best woman ever to pick up a club.....she's an even better person.  She's warm and caring and always treats people the right way.  Her humble, sweet, and inquisitive nature is so refreshing. I know how much all of you care about her too, so I wanted to share this.....She's the best! 

Planes, Trains And Automobiles

Greetings everyone.  This is Mike and I would like to give you a glimpse of Annika’s schedule during this “off week.” 

Yesterday was pretty hectic as she toured New York City and New Jersey doing interviews with print, web, radio, and television media.  We literally took all forms of transportation and here is how her day went:

5:15am  wake up call

6:00am-6:30am she was on “Fox and Friends”

7:30am-8:30am PR Meeting

9:00am-9:30am Q&A with “Vanity Fair” for their website

10:30am-11:00am she was on ESPN’s  “First Take”

12:30pm she was on CNBC’s “Power Lunch”

2:00pm she was on Bloomberg TV’s “In Focus”

2:30pm she was on Bloomberg Radio

4:45pm she was on “Sports Net New York”

5:45-7:00pm she attended a Cutter & Buck function in the city

7:45pm “wheels up” and we flew to Toronto, Canada.

Today, the wakeup call was 6:30am and she has had an outing all day at Magna Golf Club for Scotia Bank.  She started with a Breakfast and interview in front of 100 women at 8:00.  In between the radio and local television interviews, she’s playing golf with each group, giving a clinic, and then playing a nine-hole match with Morgan Pressel and Alena Sharp.  This evening she will be attending the cocktail function, and then we take off tonight at 7:45pm for Ft. Worth, Texas.

Wednesday she has three separate Merrill Lynch (ML) functions.  She leaves the lobby of the hotel at 7:00am and goes to Vaquero Golf Club where she will host a clinic with Ian Baker Finch.  Then she goes to Colonial Country Club to meet with ML guests at their hospitality suite.  This year marks the five year “anniversary” of her tournament appearance there, so it will be a special function.  Then she has a “Q&A” with 80 ML financial advisors until 2:30pm.  Later that evening, she and Paula Polito will host a dinner about “Achieving Life” with the top 100 ML clients of that region.  They will both speak and then have a “Q&A”, photos with each table, etc.  After dinner we’ll be off to the airport and on the plane at 9:45pm headed for Orlando, which gets in after midnight.

Thursday morning she has to be at the Academy by 7:00am for the taping of a CNBC commercial.  Some of you may have seen them…”I am American business, I watch CNBC.”  They will focus on her career and expanding list of businesses under the ANNIKA brand.  Friday we have the Foundation Board of Directors coming in for meetings most of the day and a dinner.  Monday she will be taping a Merrill Lynch commercial and we’ll head to Charleston, SC Monday night…..for the Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA.  Wow…..I don’t know how she does it!!

Watch Annika on CNBC's "Power Lunch"!

What a day....

Good evening everyone. It's Mike here, and I would like to share an unexpected surprise that occurred today that I never forget. Due to a last minute vacancy on Annika's Pro-Am team, I had the privilege of joining her group. We played with Tony Ponturo, VP of Global Media & Sports Marketing for Anheuser-Busch (AB) who was voted the most influential person in sports marketing by the Sports Business Journal, Bob Lachky, Chief Creative Officer at AB who helps design all the Bud commercials, including the popular “Dude” spots and the award winning Super Bowl ads each year, and Chris Higgs, the Chief Operating Officer of the LPGA Tour. From a business standpoint it was a truly humbling and exhilarating experience! From a golf standpoint, I showed my true chopping colors and did not help our team at all! We still had a wonderful time and finished 14 under in the scramble format on the strength of Annika and Chris’ play.  Annika is hitting it well and in a great frame of mind. She’s paired with Lorena and Suzann tomorrow, and we’re looking forward to an exciting week! She'll check in after her round. Cheers....