WILLIAMSBURG The money is nice. Who can't use $330,000?

But when your career earnings on the LPGA tour are at $22 million, and your net worth is several multiples of that, $330,000 is almost walking around money, a year's worth of tips.

Annika Sorenstam came to Kingsmill and the Michelob Ultra Open with something on her mind other than her bank account.

When the introduction to the television broadcast of the tournament mentions that your career has become clouded by "age and injury," when the $914,281 you had won this year is vastly overshadowed by the five victories, including four consecutive, won by Lorena Ochoa, when you have been the greatest female golfer in the world for years and people start to question whether you still have it, there is a point to be made.

That was not lost on Sorenstam, and she made her point this week. She made it with exclamation points on the back nine yesterday, when she had five birdies and knocked iron shot after iron shot to within 7 feet of the hole.

She made her point by playing the incomparable golf for which she is known. Sorenstam spent most of the 2007 season on the sidelines, with neck and back injuries. She played in just 13 events and did not win a tournament for the first time since her rookie year in 1994.

Into the void stepped such young women as Ochoa, Paula Creamer and Suzann Pettersen.

When you have been the best in the world, and you're just 37 and coming back from a serious injury, you get tired of hearing your career is done.

"Maybe a little bit," Sorenstam said. "I never wondered, but I know other people would wonder, 'Is she ever going to get back?' I know what I'm capable of. You have to be patient and keep on working."

Sorenstam's performance this week should erase any doubts about how far back she can come.

She was 19 under par, a record for this tournament. She shot a 66 yesterday and, "She had the ability to go even lower than she did," said Christina Kim, who played the final 18 with Sorenstam. "It was flawless, easy golf."

"She was awesome," said Jeong Jang, the closest pursuer to Sorenstam for most of the day. "Annika is back."

Sorenstam is an elite athlete. And elite athletes do not simply fade away because others question their ability to perform.

The Michelob Ultra Open offers a big stage. The best players always are in the field, and Sorenstam never had played particularly well here. She knew this was the time and place to show everyone she's still Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female golfer in the world until she chooses to relinquish that title.

"I'm very proud of the way I played this week," Sorenstam said. "This is what I've been waiting for, and this is what I've been wanting to do.

" . . . It's turning around, and I can't wait for the next months to come, with big tournaments. It's exciting."

It might not be so exciting for the rest of the field. Ochoa is a great golfer. Creamer and many others have star ability and star power. But none is the equal to Sorenstam when she is healthy and at the top of her game.

Yesterday was her 72nd victory on the tour, her third of the season. The first two were blips on the screen, mundane matters when compared to Ochoa's impressive performances.

One victory does not make a season, but even Sorenstam knows this was not just any victory.

"I remember how I played [before the injuries]," she said. "I remember what it felt like.

"It's so gratifying to get out there and feel in control after the last year fighting to get back. It's more of an inner peace knowing I can do it. This is the way I play at the top."

When Sorenstam is at the top, it's very difficult for anyone else to get there. And that is a point that should not be lost on the rest of the players in the LPGA.