Jim McCabe

Karrie Webb appears rejuvenated. Paula Creamer looks focused. Morgan Pressel seems as precocious as ever. Juliet Granada? Ai Miyazato? Cristie Kerr? At first glance, each seems in good form.

Oh, and Lorena Ochoa most certainly possesses an aura.

As for Annika Sorenstam, who knows? When she tees it up for the first time in the 2007 season, March 9-11 at the MasterCard Classic in Mexico, the incomparable Swede will be coming off of a very quiet four-month break. The only murmurs we heard from her revolved around her upcoming golf school, her other business plans, and her thoughts on raising a family. There was little talk of stalking all four major championships in one season, a topic that was all the rage during those most recent offseasons.

So, should we assume that at 36 Sorenstam is old news, a disinterested star fading from view, content to let others have the spotlight?

My guess: Not a chance.

Certainly, it would appear as if her uncanny domination — those years in which she won 8-11 times — is over. She won just three times in 2006, her lowest output since 1999. Her five-year run as leading money-winner? Her five-year run as LPGA player of the year? Those came to an end, too, courtesy of the dynamic Ochoa. And, sure, three major efforts were pedestrian by her standards — T-6 at the Kraft Nabisco, T-9 at the LPGA Championship, T-31 at the Women’s British Open — but the U.S. Women’s Open victory proved that Sorenstam’s fortitude is greatest when it has to be and 16 top-10 finishes in 20 starts indicates a remarkable consistency is still at the heart of her greatness.

It’s hard to quantify whether or not the burning passion is still there, but if it’s not, I suspect Sorenstam still has enough talent and course-management savvy to will her way into the winner’s circle. Maybe not every-other-week, as in seasons past, but certainly three or four times, and there’s every reason to expect her to play well in the majors. In fact, I predict she wins at least one this season, giving her 11 for her starry career.

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Perhaps because younger players arrive on the scene with more brashness than in past eras you get a sense that Sorenstam has lost the intimidation factor that served her well from 1997-2005 when in 190 starts she won 60 times, seven of them majors. But you also get a sense that it doesn’t bother Sorenstam, that she is comfortable with what she’s accomplished and how she’s gone about it, and while she may not reach the levels she established in past seasons, she knows very well that there’s still a lot of game left in her.

No longer can we produce legitimate conversation about Sorenstam’s chance at the Grand Slam (not going to happen) or winning more career majors than Tiger Woods (not a chance). Yes, the Sorenstam phenomenon has cooled. Ochoa is arguably the LPGA Tour’s best player, though with a pair of wins in her native Australia already this year, Webb may have something to say about that. Creamer seems poised to put her sophomore woes behind her, Kerr appears ready to win a major, and one of these days Miyazato will set off fireworks throughout her native Japan when she triumphs for the first time. Natalie Gulbis, Se Ri Pak, Brittany Lincicome, Pressel, Granata, and a host of young Koreans own a chunk of the spotlight at any given week.

But still ... Sorenstam remains the heart and soul of the LPGA Tour, the player whose presence must be duly noted. That’s why in some respects the tournament in Mexico will feel like the LPGA Tour’s 2007 season-opener, with all due respect to the two events already played in Hawaii.