Annika Out with a Whimper in Final (Maybe) LPGA Event

Annika Sorenstam's final LPGA tournament of 2008 - and perhaps forever - came to an early end on Friday when she missed the second-day cutdown at the ADT Championship.

The 32-player field is cut to 16 after Day 2, then to eight following Day 3. But Sorenstam, after rounds of 74 and 75, is done early.

It certainly wasn't the going-away party hoped for by Sorenstam, who earlier this year announced her retirement from competitive golf. Or did she? In fact, Sorenstam has never used the word "retirement," instead referring to her departure from tour as a "stepping away." And she has refused to rule out an eventual return, although she has also stated she is not planning on a return.

So the ADT Championship goes down - for now - as Sorenstam's final LPGA tournament. Her last appearance anywhere comes next month in the Dubai Ladies Masters, a Ladies European Tour event.

My guess is that Sorenstam will be back. She is 38 years old and has a wedding planned in 2009. She and her soon-to-husband will likely start a family, and I'd wager that after Annika has a child, maybe two, and spends a few years as a mother-slash-businesswoman, she won't be able to ignore that competitive fire. I predict she'll return to the LPGA Tour in her early to mid-40s, and probably win a few more times, too.

See also:

• Annika Sorenstam biography
• Annika Sorenstam pictures
• Annika by the numbers

On the Wire:
Sorenstam's LPGA career ends