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EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France -- Annika Sorenstam is determined that her final year on the LPGA Tour should not become a sentimental journey, but she might make a small exception for the Evian Masters.
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The 37-year-old Swede, who retires at the end of the season to marry and start a family, will also play next week in the British Women's Open in her last major and final tournament as a tour regular in Europe, but it's the Evian Masters that is close to her heart.
"This is a unique event. Evian is just an amazing place," Sorenstam said Wednesday. "It's so beautiful. My parents always come here. I bring other family members. It's just a great place.
"It's just a lot more relaxed than other tournaments. So, this event I'll certainly miss more than other tournaments because of that reason."
The course is set on a hillside looking down on Lake Geneva and across to Switzerland, with French Alpine peaks stretching off into the distance.
It is the centerpiece of a stylish five-star resort hotel that seems entirely appropriate for an event with total prize money of $3,250,000 that matches the U.S. Women's Open.
Yet Sorenstam remembers the modest beginnings of a tournament she first visited in 1995.
"I remember the first time I played here, I think there was -- well, there were no ropes. There were maybe two spectators, now we have thousands.
"It's been great to see the tournament grow. It just seems to improve in every area."
That first time, Sorenstam finished second, five strokes behind Laura Davies. She won in 2000 -- when Evian debuted on the LPGA Tour -- and again in 2002.
"We love Annika," tournament director Jacques Bungert said. "We will definitely show her how emotional we are about her."
Among the surprises planned for Sorenstam's last Evian appearance is the naming of a part of the course in her honor.
"There will be an Annika's Place somewhere," Bungert said. "It is in the heart of the tournament and Annika is in our hearts."
