LPGA NEWS: Natalie Gulbis continues march toward victory

Forget Ray Romano: Everybody loves Natalie Gulbis -- fans, tournament sponsors, pro-am partners and, perhaps most remarkably in the cliquish world of the LPGA, pretty much all her fellow competitors.

She is a bright, amiable woman who was Cristie Kerr's maid of honor in December and shared a house with Annika Sorenstam at the Weetabix Women's British Open in August 2006. That Gulbis is close to two women with such different personalities says a lot about her.

She is a comfortable bridge connecting the many islands that comprise the LPGA: an attractive, articulate spokeswoman for a tour that needs such exposure. Now, if she could only win a tournament.

Gulbis, who has been called "the American Anna Kournikova," a reference to the Russian sex symbol who has sold a lot of products but has not enjoyed nearly as much success on the tennis court, is entering a crucial phase of her career in which she must prove she is not just another pretty face. She is one of the most visible LPGA players, with her own Web site, a calendar so provocative the USGA banned an autograph session for it at the U.S. Women's Open, a reality show on the Golf Channel and more than a half-dozen endorsement deals, including a rather saucy television spot with John Daly and Butch Harmon for Winn Grips. Still, she enters her sixth season without an LPGA victory.



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Gulbis has played 135 career events without a victory.It is possible, however, the ultimate comparison that applies to Gulbis will be to Kerr, not Kournikova. Except for the fact Gulbis attended the University of Arizona for one year while Kerr turned pro right out of high school, they are remarkably similar. Turning pro at 18, Kerr played 135 LPGA events before getting her first victory in her sixth season at age 24. Gulbis, who turned 24 Jan. 7, became a pro at 19 and enters 2007 having played 135 LPGA events without a win. Kerr's first victory at the 2002 Longs Drugs Challenge opened the floodgates -- she now has nine wins -- and removed doubts about her ability to close tournaments. Gulbis faces that same challenge.

"I'd like to have a few wins under my belt, that's for sure," Gulbis said by cell phone at 6 on a January morning from Southern California as she heads to a workout session. "I won in college, and my first year I wanted to win events. I'd say I'm a little disappointed from that standpoint. Actually, I won't say 'a little,' I am disappointed from that standpoint. You want more of yourself, more of your game."

Gulbis, who experienced her first white Christmas with her family in the mountains near Flagstaff, Ariz., had a typically hectic offseason. She was grand marshal of the Fiesta Bowl, did a daylong photo shoot for TaylorMade as well as spent three days at its testing center getting fitted for its new r7 irons and TP Black ball. Gulbis also made time for several sessions with her instructor Harmon, adding shots to her short game and working on improving her 158th ranking in sand saves. They also focused on her driving, hoping to add a little more consistency.

"I think with the iron swing we have it where we want it, but I fall into bad habits just like everyone else," Gulbis said. "I'm always working on my driver. It's probably the most exaggerated of my issues and my tendencies. If I could swing my driver like I swing my 7-iron … "

Two years ago she abandoned cross-handed putting for the Hammy with its split grip, which she said keeps her from being too handsy with her stroke.

"I'm still putting well [with the split-grip]," she said of her T-11 performance in 2006 on putts per GIR, when asked if she plans to stick with the unorthodox method.

Kerr believed Gulbis will find success when she learns to limit her off-course obligations.

"Her problem is the opposite of mine," Kerr said. "I had to learn to say yes, and she has to learn to say no. You can't win when your mind is on a million other things. She needs to put herself in a position to win more often -- top three -- and it will happen, it will be her time."

Gulbis agreed with both of Kerr's assessments.

"The players who win finish in the top 10 every single week," said Gulbis, who has 19 top-10s in the last two seasons after only six in her first three. "Every year it gets tougher [to win]. That's what's so fun about sports. People get better, and you have to get better, too. You have to outwork everybody and outplay everybody."

For Gulbis, that time has come.

Credit for story to: Ron Sirak, Executive Editor of Golf World magazine.