Top 10 Female Sports Pioneers

Though she went out with a whimper — missing the cut in her final LPGA tournament on Nov. 21 — Sorenstam's career scorecard holds up to just about any other in history. The 38-year-old Swedish superstar racked up 72 LPGA wins (including 10 majors), eight player of the year awards and more than $20 million in prize money. Having dominated the women's tour, in 2003 she sought to challenge the men, becoming the first female golfer since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to contest a PGA Tour event. The same year, she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.