A return is not out of question for Sorenstam

EDINA, Minn. - Assuming she goes through with her plans to step away from competitive golf, Annika Sorenstam is making her 15th and final appearance in the US Women's Open, which commences this morning at Interlachen Country Club.

Then again, retirement rarely is forever when it comes to sports, which is why the Swede was asked if this was curtains. Her answer hardly inspired belief that it is.

"As far as . . . yeah . . . as far as I'm planning on," she said. "I don't know if I'll come back in five or so years, but I am stepping away completely from competition at the end of the year."

After that answer, would you bet against her showing up at next year's US Women's Open? Probably not, but Sorenstam did lead you to believe she's putting a passionate effort into this year's competition, determined, perhaps, to go out on as positive a note as possible. With 10 majors to her credit, she feels she has an edge when it comes to preparing for them. She also let it be known that no tournament has meant as much to her as this one.

"When I was a little girl I pretended that I would have a 3-footer for the US [Women's] Open," said Sorenstam.

She did leave you hanging, however, when she explained that "majors take experience." After all, Sorenstam won the 1995 US Women's Open in just her fifth start in the majors and second appearance in this championship, and then successfully defended the next year.

Well represented

There's a pretty good contingent of participants with New England connections, starting with two-time former champ Meg Mallon. She was born in Natick and while she moved to Michigan as a toddler, she's always had a warm spot for the Boston area. Also in the field are LPGA Tour members Carri Wood of South Dennis; Heather Daly-Donofrio of Fairfield, Conn.; and rookie Anna Grzebien of Narragansett, R.I. Lynn Valentine of East Lyme, Conn., who plays on the Futures Tour, is also in the field, as is amateur Alison Walshe of Westford, a member of the US Curtis Cup team that last month beat Great Britain and Ireland at St. Andrews in Scotland . . . Yani Tseng, the surprising winner of the recent LPGA Championship, will sport a Minnesota Twins hat all week. Why? "Because, I love the Twins this week," she said. Tseng had a blue hat Tuesday given to her by a friend, but was sporting a white one yesterday.

Team players

They apparently weren't that sick of each other after playing as a team against 18 men in the annual CVS Charity Classic in Barrington, R.I., Monday and Tuesday. That's because Nicole Castrale and Laura Diaz went off in the same practice group mid-morning. In the event at Rhode Island CC, Castrale and Diaz finished seventh in the 10-team field . . . Diaz has knowledge of Interlachen, having played on the victorious US team in the 2002 Solheim Cup. The captain of that US team, Patty Sheehan, was on hand yesterday, walking around late in the afternoon with two of her other key players that year, Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst. Other members of that winning team who are in this year's championship are Cristie Kerr, Kelli Kuehne, Mallon, and Michele Redman . . . The 2002 European team, which lost, 15 1/2-12 1/2, has several members here this week - Helen Alfredsson, Laura Davies, Sophie Gustafson, Maria Hjorth, Suzann Pettersen, and Sorenstam.