[2][3] Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international professional tournaments, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name.

Despite retiring from regular tournament golf in 2008, as of the end of 2022, she still topped the LPGA's career money list with earnings of over $22 million—over $2 million ahead of her nearest rival while playing 187 fewer events.

She was a nationally ranked junior tennis player, played association football (soccer) in her hometown team Bro IK, and was such a good skier that the coach of the Swedish national ski team suggested the family move to northern Sweden to improve her skiing year round.

[6] At the European Tour tournament Scandinavian Enterprise Open in Stockholm in July 1986, she tried to be a volunteer caddie and was asked to stand in a line with all other candidates.

A few weeks later at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Kemper Lakes near Chicago, she was the runner-up to Vicki Goetze, bogeying the last hole in the 36-hole final.

[28] In the United States, Sörenstam was LPGA Rookie of the Year, had three top-10 finishes including a tie for second at the Women's British Open and made her Solheim Cup debut.

[31] September 1999 saw Sörenstam change her on-course team replacing her caddie of six years, Colin Cann, with Terry McNamara.

[32] She qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame when she won the 2000 Welch's/Circle K Championship, but was not eligible for induction until finishing her tenth year on the LPGA tour in October 2003.

[42][43][44] Having lost her preeminent position, Sörenstam embarked on a new five-day-a-week exercise program including weight-lifting and balance work which by 2003 added over 20 yards (18 m) to her driving distance.

[30][47] She set or tied a total of 30 LPGA records en route to regaining the Vare Trophy and winning her fourth Player of the Year and Money List titles in 2001.

In a made-for-TV alternate shot competition between the two best male and female players in the world, Sörenstam and Tiger Woods beat Karrie Webb and David Duval.

In February, she announced that she had filed for divorce from David Esch, her husband of eight years, and this was finalised in August but it did not adversely affect her golf.

[70] 11 wins in 21 tournaments entered worldwide included victory in the Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika[71] where she presented herself the trophy, giving her an eighth Money List title, tying the LPGA record, an eighth Rolex Player of the Year (POY) award (a record) and a sixth Vare Trophy.

[83] Having previously won six Best Female Golfer ESPY Awards (1996, 1998–99, 2002–04), Sörenstam also received the 2005 ESPY Award as Best Female Athlete[84][85][86][87] When the first-ever official Women's World Golf Rankings were unveiled in February 2006, Sörenstam was confirmed as the number-one player in women's golf, a position she relinquished to Lorena Ochoa on 22 April 2007.

[88][89] In partnership with Liselotte Neumann in team Sweden, she won the Women's World Cup of Golf, opened her LPGA season with a defence of her title in the MasterCard Classic.

[99][100] After a two-month injury rehabilitation break, Sörenstam returned as the Ginn Tribute tournament hostess where she admitted to being at only 85% fitness and finished tied for 36th place.

[102] After an early round defeat at the World Matchplay Championship, Sörenstam finished sixth at the Evian Masters, 16th at the Women's British Open and ninth in the Swedish tournament she hosts on the Ladies European Tour.

[103] On her return to the US, Sörenstam had three top ten finishes but missed the weekend at the season closing ADT Playoffs for the second year running.

[111] Her last scheduled tournament on the LPGA Tour was the season-ending ADT Championship in November, where she failed to make the weekend play in the event's unique playoff structure.

[119] The match, played at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Iowa, United States, was won by the U.S. team 161⁄2–111⁄2.

[128] The tournament is a qualifying event for the European team in the Junior Solheim Cup since 2015[129] and has been rated up to level "A" in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

[130] In February 2015, Sörenstam became one of seven women, invited as the first female honorary members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

The other six women were HRH Princess Anne, Dame Laura Davies, Renee Powell, Belle Robertson, Lally Segard and Louise Suggs.

[132] In June 2021, Sörenstam hosted, together with fellow countryman Henrik Stenson, the Scandinavian Mixed hosted by Henrik and Annika, co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Ladies European Tour, taking place in Sweden, for the first time bringing 78 men and 78 women together to compete in the same tournament for the same prize money, but playing from different tees.

[135] In 2022 Sörenstam accepted an invitation to become the first woman vice-president of the Association of Golf Writers, following in the footsteps of Sir Michael Bonallack, Tony Jacklin, Bernhard Langer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

[9][146] She and Jack Nicklaus lost out on a bid to build the Olympic golf course in Rio to Gil Hanse and his consultant Amy Alcott.

[149] The ANNIKA Academy at Ginn Reunion Resort in Reunion, Florida began construction in 2006 and opened in April 2007 with Sörenstam's longtime coach Henri Reis serving as head instructor, her sister Charlotta an instructor and club fitter, her personal trainer Kai Fusser focusing on overall fitness training, and with Sörenstam available for coaching on certain golfing packages.

[164][165] Before the 2003 season Sörenstam took the opportunity to improve her culinary skills by working eight-hour shifts in the kitchens of the Lake Nona Country Club.

Note: Sörenstam won the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open (formerly named the du Maurier Classic) in 2001, the year after it stopped being recognized as a major championship on the LPGA Tour.

† Not official in LPGA records, 307 tournaments played, 296 cuts made, 207 top-10s Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.