To Sweden!

The ANNIKA Invitational, our award-winning junior golf tournament, is heading to Europe in 2012!

ANNIKA Invitational Europe will be played for the first time in Sweden in late summer of next year. The tournament will be held Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, 2012 at Linkopings Golf Club in Annika’s native country of Sweden. The 54-hole stroke play competition, modeled after the ANNIKA Invitational in the United States, will feature 78 of the best junior girl golfers from European countries. Annika will also host a number of activities, including skills clinics and educational sessions for the participants.

"Expanding our ANNIKA Invitational series to Europe has been a dream of mine,” said Annika.  “I want to continue to inspire young girls to focus on golf and being active while teaching them life lessons along the way.  This will give my Foundation three world-class junior tournaments in different regions of the world. Bringing this tournament to my native country, Sweden, was an obvious choice.”

The three top finishers in ANNIKA Invitational Europe will win coveted berths to the ANNIKA Invitational in the United States. Started by the ANNIKA Foundation, the ANNIKA Invitational is an official American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournament in Orlando, Fla. The AJGA is widely regarded as the best junior golf circuit in the world, and has awarded the ANNIKA Invitational in Orlando two national awards, including “Best Invitational” for girls.

The ANNIKA Invitational began in partnership with the AJGA in the United States in 2009 and expanded to Mission Hills, China in 2011. We had a great time over there! Read about all three days of the ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills right here on our blog! Day 1 starts here.

The ANNIKA Cup, which invites younger top junior girls, will continue to be played each year immediately preceding or after the ANNIKA Invitational Europe at Annika’s childhood course, Bro Balsta Golf Club, near Stockholm. You can read more about the 2011 ANNIKA Cup here.

"We are thrilled that the ANNIKA Invitational Europe will bring greater attention to Swedish girls' golf,” said Magnus Grankvist, head of the junior golf at the Swedish Golf Federation.  “We are proud to be linked with Annika and the Foundation partners, including the AJGA.  It is wonderful that the top juniors from Europe will have the opportunity to play in the AJGA version in the United States.”

We're so excited to expand this opportunity to some of Europe's best junior players. Annika started the ANNIKA Foundation with a goal: to create great opportunities for junior golfers, nationally and globally, to pursue their dreams. With our earlier expansion to China and now to Sweden, it looks like we're right on track.

- AF