Annika Sorenstam will retire after the season, ending an LPGA Tour career in which she has won 72 tournaments to date and delivered a defining moment when she teed it up against the men on the PGA Tour.

She was to announce her decision at a news conference today at the Sybase Classic in Clifton, N.J., a person familiar with her plans told The Associated Press.
The 37-year-old Sorenstam has hinted at retirement the past several seasons, saying she wanted to devote more time to her growing business and to start a family. She is engaged to Mike McGee, son of former PGA Tour player Jerry McGee.

"This would be very much like Annika to get on top and then quit," said Judy Rankin, a Hall of Famer and television analyst.

The decision comes two days after Sorenstam won the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill by seven shots for her third victory of the season, and first against a field that included Lorena Ochoa. It was a sign that Sorenstam had fully recovered from injuries and was poised to make a strong big at recapturing her stature as the best in women's golf.

"I just hope to continue this momentum," Sorenstam said after winning. "I’m feeling it. It’s turning around, and so I can't wait for the next month or so to come with big tournaments, and I’m excited."

Sorenstam dominated women’s golf like few others, especially during a five-year period when she won 43 times and finished among the top three nearly 70 percent of the time. But for all her achievements — the only woman to shoot 59, 10 majors and one of six women to complete the career Grand Slam — she became most famous for testing herself against the men.