BELLEAIR, Fla., Sept. 24, 2025 – Wake Forest Senior Anne-Sterre den Dunnen will be competing against the world’s best professional golfers when she tees it up as a sponsor invitation at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, taking place Nov. 10-16 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.
At the 2025 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, which concluded earlier this month in Minnesota, a sponsor invitation to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican was on the line to a player from this year’s winning team. Wake Forest captured the championship by three strokes, the program’s first team victory of the 2025-26 season and their third ANNIKA Intercollegiate title overall. Wake Forest women’s golf coach Kim Lewellen selected den Dunnen as the recipient for the sponsor invitation. She finished T8 at 2-under par at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
“We are excited for the opportunity for Anne to play her first LPGA Tour event at The ANNIKA in November,” said Lewellen. “Winning the ANNIKA Intercollegiate as a team allowed the team and coaches to vote for one player to participate in this prestigious event. It was unanimous that Anne would take this honor. She has been a wonderful representative for Wake Forest golf and athletics. We look forward to her participating and showcasing her skills with the best in the world.”
Den Dunnen will make her LPGA Tour competition debut at The ANNIKA in November.
“We are very excited to have Anne competing at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican,” said Annika. “She is a leader at Wake Forest, and I’ve enjoyed seeing her hard work pay off both on and off the course. For her to compete in her first LPGA Tour event at The ANNIKA is very special.”
A native of the Netherlands, den Dunnen had a decorated junior career prior to enrolling at Wake Forest. She was the Netherlands National Champion Under-18 in 2020 and 2021; the 2021 Italian Girls Under 18 Champion; the 2021 Dutch Amateur Champion; and individual stroke play champion at the 2020 European Team Championships.
“I’m so incredibly excited for this opportunity,” said den Dunnen. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always dreamed of being able to play on the LPGA. This tournament is going to be an amazing taste of what the future holds.”
A senior at Wake Forest earning her major in anthropology and a minor in biology, den Dunnen has been an integral team member of the Demon Deacons, with four top 10 finishes and carding her lowest scoring average of her collegiate career her junior year. Following the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Wake Forest captured its second straight win at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup over Stanford, with den Dunnen defeating Stanford’s Kelly Xu in 21 holes to earn the decisive point for Wake Forest.
The ANNIKA, Tampa Bay’s annual LPGA Tour event and the penultimate event on the 2025 LPGA Tour schedule, is hosted by World Golf and LPGA Hall-of-Fame member Annika Sörenstam and taking place Nov. 10-16 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. The tournament will offer a $3.25 million purse – one of the largest outside the major championships – with proceeds from the tournament benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation.
South Carolina’s Louise Rydqvist competed in The ANNIKA in 2023 and 2024 via sponsor invitations from the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
Nelly Korda captured her seventh LPGA Tour win in 2024 and third win in four seasons at The ANNIKA (2021 and 2022) by three strokes at 14-under par. Lilia Vu captured her fourth LPGA Tour win at The ANNIKA in 2023, with Sei Young Kim winning the inaugural event in 2020.
For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit www.TheAnnika.com and on social media: @TheAnnikaLPGA on X (formerly Twitter), @theannikalpga on Instagram, and The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on Facebook.
About The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is the LPGA Tour’s annual tournament in the Tampa Bay region and features the world’s best female golfers competing over four rounds for a share of the $3.25 million purse, one of the largest purses on the LPGA Tour. The tournament is contested at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., a Donald Ross design that offers world-class amenities and an unmatched golf experience. The sole namesake event on the LPGA Tour, Annika Sörenstam serves as tournament host with proceeds benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation. The championship is operated by Outlyr, a global sports, event management and lifestyle marketing agency. For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit www.TheAnnika.com.
About ANNIKA
During her 15-year, Hall-of-Fame career, Annika rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards, and changed the way women’s golf was played, viewed and covered. She amassed over 95 worldwide wins, 72 on the LPGA Tour, 10 Major Championships, and the 2021 US Senior Women’s Open. She won a record eight Rolex Player of the Year awards, in 2003 was the first woman in 58 years to play a PGA TOUR event, is the only LPGA player to shoot 59, and is still the LPGA’s All-Time money leader with over $22 Million in earnings despite stepping away from competition in 2008.
In 2007, she created the ANNIKA Foundation, which has reached more than 8.000 girls since its inception and will be impacting another 1,300 females this year. It currently hosts seven global junior tournaments reaching girls from 60 different countries annually. In 2014 it started the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, featuring 12 of the top DI schools in the country. The winner gets an invite into The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, the only signature event on the LPGA schedule.
In 2014 the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award was established to recognize the player who, during a current LPGA Tour season, has the most outstanding record in all five major championships. In 2020, Annika was elected the President of the International Golf Federation which oversees golf in the Olympic Games. In 2021, she became the first female golfer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 2022, the ANNIKA Development Program was established in partnership with Old Barnwell, a private golf club near Aiken, South Carolina to support college graduates who are pursuing professional golf careers. Four ANNIKA Ambassadors are selected per year, and they receive access for three years to Old Barnwell, housing, financial assistance, training, and mentorship from Annika.
The ANNIKA Women's All Pro Tour was launched in 2024 to provide a better pathway for women to the Epson and LPGA Tours. In 2025, the Foundation launched the More Than Golf Invitational for women's Mid-Major Conference Champions. The college player of the year wins the ANNIKA Award Presented by Stifel.
About the LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is the world’s premier women’s professional golf organization. Created in 1950 by 13 pioneering female Founders, the LPGA, whose Members now represent nearly 40 countries, is the longest-standing professional women’s sports organization. Through the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour, the LPGA Professionals, and a joint venture with the Ladies European Tour, the LPGA provides female professionals the opportunity to pursue their dreams in the game of golf at the highest level. In addition to its professional tours and teaching accreditation programs, the LPGA features a fully integrated Foundation, which provides best-in-class programming for female golfers through its junior golf programming, and its LPGA Amateurs division, which offers its members playing and learning opportunities around the world. The LPGA aims to use its unique platform to inspire, transform and advance opportunities for girls and women, on and off the golf course.
Follow the LPGA online at www.LPGA.com and download its mobile apps on Apple or Google Play. Join the social conversation on Facebook,X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and YouTube.
About the LPGA Tour
The LPGA Tour is the world’s leading competitive destination for the best female professional golfers in the world. The Tour hosts more than 32 annual events across 12 countries for over 200 athletes, awarding total prize funds exceeding $129 million and reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. Follow the LPGA Tour on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel.
Media Contact:
Jeremy Friedman
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Outlyr
407-721-9752
jfriedman@outlyr.com
Taylor Britton
ANNIKA Foundation
732-284-9950
taylorb@annikafoundation.org