Sorenstam, Zaharias, and Player receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Three golfers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, and the late Babe Didrikson Zaharias received one of the highest civilian honors.
To start, this is not about politics. This is solely a golf article, and one that is designed to recognize three of the greatest to ever tee it up on the golf course, and the amazing honor they were bestowed with. Congratulations to Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, and the late Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
On Thursday, it was announced that the three all-time great golfers were being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s quite the accomplishment, and they join a long line of golfers and athletes to have been bestowed the honor.
Most recently, Tiger Woods was awarded the same honor, his coming in 2019.
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All three of the golfers who received the Medal of Freedom have had varying levels of success, all of which are impressive.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of the greatest to ever tee it up on a golf course, regardless of the tees that one was hitting from. Not only that, she may have been one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.
Two gold medals and one silver, all in Track & Field. Six-time AP female athlete of the year. Ten-Time Major winner. Multiple outings in Major League Baseball exhibition games as a pitcher, throwing four innings in total and going scoreless in three of them. She also holds the World Record for furthest baseball thrown by a woman. She wasn’t a great female athlete… she was a great athlete.
You are likely more familiar with the Black Knight, Gary Player. Well known for his incredible fitness, Player receives the medal at the spry age of 85. Player won nine majors and 165(!) events across more than eight tours.
The greatest golfer though is Annika Sorenstam. She won ten majors, with eight of them coming between 2001 and 2006. She could’ve furthered her records and accomplishments, but decided to step away from the game late in 2008. She also won player of the year eight times over an 11-year stretch, from 1995 to 2005.
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Each of these golfers was fantastic and accomplished an incredible amount, not just on the course, but off of it as well. Congratulations once again to Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Gary Player, and Annika Sorenstam on becoming recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.