ORLANDO – The UCF women’s golf team accepted an invitation to the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, the foundation announced the field for the tournament on Monday.
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate has become a staple early-season event for the top teams. The premier women’s college golf tournament will see 12 Division I teams compete in a 54-hole stroke play format. The tournament will take place Sept. 8 to 11 at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
This will be the Knights' first appearance in the tournament since 2016. UCF will join Arizona State, Clemson, Duke, Iowa State, Purdue, Cal, Minnesota, Oregon, South Carolina, UCLA and Wake Forest in a tough field with all teams in the top 60.
One exemption to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge will be awarded to the winning team of this year’s ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge tournament offers a $3.25 million purse—one of the largest outside major championships. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the ANNIKA Foundation, helping advance its mission to develop, empower and advance young women around the world through golf and in life.
Royal Golf Club, host of the 10th ANNIKA Intercollegiate, features the Queen’s Nine, a front nine designed by Annika herself. The back nine, named the King’s Nine, was designed by Arnold Palmer. The tournament will also feature a “Share My Passion” clinic, offering girls ages 6 to 14 an opportunity to learn golf fundamentals and invaluable insights from Annika, a moderated Q&A with Annika and a College-Am to connect players with local businesses to build relationships and connections for their future.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika Sörenstam created the ANNIKA Foundation to develop and empower the next generation of women around the world through the game of golf. Specifically, it provides opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of personal development, including living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children, and an endowment of the AJGA’s ACE Grant program.
The ANNIKA Foundation annually conducts several “Share My Passion” grassroots clinics designed to introduce kids to the game. It also conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex in the U.S.; ANNIKA Invitational Asia; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; the Women’s Amateur Latin America with the R&A in Argentina; and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia in New Zealand.
Since 2014, the foundation has annually hosted the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, a women’s college tournament featuring 12 top Division I schools. Moreover, with the support of the Haskins Foundation, the foundation created the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, which is given annually to the best female collegiate golfer.
In 2022, the ANNIKA Development Program was created to support recent college graduates pursue their dreams of playing professional golf. The foundation will also be the main beneficiary of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, a new tournament tradition that began on the LPGA Tour November 6 to 12, 2023.