RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — On the back of Annika Sorenstam's visor was a 59, visible to all and a reminder of what she did only last week. Under the bill was something more private, a message she wrote to herself as she chased another bit of golf history.
Written in Swedish, it loosely translated into "Don't be afraid. Just go for it."
Glancing upward at her visor instead of looking at the scoreboards, Sorenstam followed her words of wisdom Sunday, shooting a methodical 3-under 69 to and win the Nabisco Championship for her first major title since 1996.
A final 25-footer that dropped into the center of the cup on the 18th hole gave Sorenstam a three-shot win, capping a remarkable three weeks of golf that put her in the record books and firmly established her once again as the reigning star of women's golf.
"I don't know why all this is happening to me but I'm very, very thankful," said an emotional Sorenstam, who was wrapped in a champion's robe after the obligatory plunge into Champions Lake surrounding the 18th green.
"This is what a golfer can dream about and I'm the lucky one. I can't believe it, it's just a dream come true."
Sorenstam was showered in champagne by her sister, Charlotta, and husband, David Esch, before she walked toward the water and went in face first with a push from her sister.
She emerged from the murky water to throw her visor into the crowd in a celebration of the win in the one major championship she had so coveted.
"All winter at home I practiced my putting thinking 'This is the one that will win the Nabisco Championship,"' Sorenstam said. "These are the fantasies you have and mine came true."
Sorenstam hit 17 of 18 greens Sunday — after hitting them all in regulation a day before — to overcome third-round leader Rachel Teske and then Pat Hurst to win a major title for the first time since the 1996 U.S. Women's Open.
It was a display of control and patience that, for Sorenstam, ranked right up there with the 59 last week that was the first ever shot by a woman in competition.