SORENSTAM ON THE PROWL.

Byline: DAVE SHELBURNE Golf

Get ready for professional golf's most intriguing stretch run since Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut in August 1996.

While Woods has gone on to become the most famous golfer in the world since winning twice as a sponsor-exempt rookie to earn his tour card in that remarkable '96 fall finish, Sweden's Annika Sorenstam has been putting up Tigerish numbers on the LPGA Tour with less acclaim but equal brilliance.

How similar are their stripes?

In seven seasons, Woods has 40 worldwide victories, eight major championships, PGA Tour records for season and career earnings and the best season scoring average in his tour's history at 67.79 in 2000.

In nine seasons, Sorenstam has 40 victories, four majors, LPGA records for season and career earnings, the best season scoring average in her tour's history (69.42 last year) and is at 68.55 this year.

She hits shorter shots, he gets fatter paychecks, but not much else separates the skill or will of these two remarkable players. Both have honed their ability with work ethic, preparation, focus and course management to dominate two tours that are especially strong at the top.

Now, Sorenstam, who also has shot 59 to equal the lowest score on either professional tour, is chasing history - in the form of Mickey Wright's LPGA-record season win total of 13, set in 1963. Wright played in 32 tournaments in 1963, and Sorenstam has won 9 of 18 this season.

Sorenstam, who celebrated her 32nd birthday Wednesday, enters this week's Mobile Tournament of Champions with nine season victories and will play in the tour's five remaining events in a bid to catch Wright.

``I thought that maybe I needed a break,'' said Sorenstam, who has finished in the top 10 in 16 tournaments this season. `But my husband said, `You can break this record. What are you waiting for?' He was right. I'm going to go full force these last few events.''

Sorenstam, whose added strength had her hitting 280-yard drives last week, said she didn't think about the record until last year, when she won eight times for her then-personal best.

``This year, I wanted to beat last year,'' she said after shooting 66-67-68-65 at last week's Samsung World Championship to earn her ninth victory this season with a tournament-record 22-under 266.

One more victory and she will become only the fifth LPGA player to win 10 times in a season.

``So now that I'm here, I know what the great players have done before,'' said Sorenstam, who usually prefers to pace herself in terms of scheduling, ``so I can play well when I do play.''

But this is an opportunity to break a record the LPGA media guide said might never be touched - a belief Sorenstam never has held when it comes to any kind of record.

``You should never say never,'' said Sorenstam, whose determination to excel is matched by her constant striving to improve and her conviction she should never put limits on possibility.

``I can improve in every area, I believe,'' she said. ``I've said before that a 54 is possible, and that means you birdie every hole. Why should you limit yourself? I haven't shot 54, but I've shot 59, and you've got to break some barriers.

``The sky is the limit. That's what my caddie always tells me. Once you get it in your head that it's OK, then you can perform. When you say, `It may never be broken,' then you might start to believe it. I don't believe in those things. It's possible, and that's what keeps me going forward.''

That conviction, coupled with shot-making accuracy that has her hitting 80 percent of her greens in regulation, should make her stretch run as memorable as the one Tiger launched with his ``Hello, world,'' greeting in 1996.

--Tiger's field set: Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, David Toms, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, Nick Price, Michael Campbell, Chris DiMarco, Bob Estes, Colin Montgomerie, Rich Beem, Bernhard Langer and Mark O'Meara will join tournament host/defending champion Tiger Woods in the Target World Challenge presented by Williams tournament scheduled for Dec. 4-8 at Sherwood CC in Thousand Oaks. Ticket information: (714)-816-1806.

--Names in the game: Steve Yavorsky of Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert won the 51st Los Angeles City Senior Men's championship last week at Hansen Dam GC, shooting 70-71-141 to finish three strokes ahead of La Canada High basketball coach Tom Hofman (73-73-146), representing Brookside GC. ... Ron Hinds of Westlake Village GC won the seventh annual Westlake Challenge, including seven consecutive birdies in a round of 8-under-par 59. ... Jack Wade will defend his Scholl Canyon men's club championship Oct. 19-20 in that annual 36-hole competition at the Glendale executive course.

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