Paula Creamer

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Paula Creamer
Personal Information
Paula Creamer at 2007 U.S. Open
Birth August 5, 1986 (1986-08-05) (age 21)
Mountain View, California U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Residence Windermere, Florida, U.S.
College None
Career
Turned Professional 2005
Current tour LPGA Tour (joined 2005)
Professional wins 8 (LPGA Tour: 6, other: 2)
Best Results in Major Championships
Kraft Nabisco T15: 2007
LPGA Championship T3: 2005
U.S. Women's Open T13: 2004
Women's British Open T7: 2007
Awards
American Junior Golf
Association (AJGA)
Player of the Year		 2003
Golf Digest
Junior of the Year		 2003
Golf Digest
Amateur of the Year		 2004
LPGA Rookie of the Year 2005

Paula Creamer (born August 5, 1986) is an American professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour. She was named LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2005 and has six wins on the LPGA Tour, with eight total professional wins.

Nicknamed the "Pink Panther" for the color she often wears,[1] Creamer finished second on the LPGA money list in 2005, and in 2007 was third. In the Women's World Golf Rankings she has been as high as number two,[2] and as of June 2008 is in the top five.[3]

Contents

[edit] Amateur career

Creamer started playing golf when she was 10 years old.[4] At the age of 12, she won 13 consecutive regional junior events in Northern California.[4]

She won a total of 19 amateur national titles, including 11 American Junior Golf Association tournaments.[4][5] She was a semi-finalist in the 2003 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship and U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, and reached the same stage of both events the following year.[6] In 2004, she also placed second in the ShopRite LPGA Classic, tied for 13th in the U.S. Women's Open, and represented the United States in the Curtis Cup.[7]

She won the 2004 LPGA Tour Final Qualifying Tournament by five strokes, thus gaining membership on the Tour for the 2005 season.[8] She turned professional immediately after the event.[7]

[edit] Amateur victories and honors

  • Won 19 national titles, including 11 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments.
  • 2002: Member of winning U.S. Junior Solheim Cup team.
  • 2003: AJGA Player of the Year. Golfweek and Golf Digest Junior of the Year. Member of U.S. Junior Solheim Cup team.
  • 2004: Golfweek and Golf Digest Amateur of the Year. Member of winning U.S. Curtis Cup team. Winner of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

[edit] Professional career

Upon joining the LPGA Tour in 2005, Creamer quickly became a top player. On May 22, she holed a 17-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the Sybase Classic in New Rochelle, New York to win by one stroke.[9] Creamer became the youngest winner of a multiple-round tournament in LPGA history.[10] (Marlene Hagge won twice at a younger age than Creamer. Both wins came in 18-hole events.)[9] On July 23, she claimed her second title of the year, winning the Evian Masters tournament in France by an eight-shot margin.[11] She became the youngest and quickest player to reach $1 million in LPGA career earnings.[12] In August Creamer won the NEC Open on the Japan LPGA tour,[13] and added a victory at the Masters GC Ladies tournament two months later.[14] Creamer earned a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team, becoming the youngest player to do so.[15] She helped the U.S. team win the cup, going 3–1–1 for the competition.[7] Creamer won the LPGA Rookie of the Year award for her season,[10] in which she earned over $1.5 million, second on the money list behind Annika Sörenstam, and recorded eight top-three finishes.[16]

After her strong first-year performance, Creamer's 2006 season was not as successful. She did not win a tournament, and was hampered by wrist and foot injuries during the year.[17] Creamer still managed to earn over $1 million and make the cut in all 27 LPGA tournaments in which she played, compiling 14 top-10 finishes. Her best result of the season was a tie for second at The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions.[18]

In 2007, Creamer rebounded with two LPGA Tour titles. On February 17, she won her third career LPGA title at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, making a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole of the final round to defeat Julieta Granada by one shot.[19] In November, Creamer won The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions, defeating Birdie Kim by eight strokes.[20] She also played in her second Solheim Cup, leading both sides in points earned. Creamer went unbeaten in five matches as the U.S. team retained the cup.[21] For the season, she posted 13 top-10 finishes and earned over $1.3 million, third on the money list.[22]

In February 2008, she earned her fifth LPGA title at the Fields Open in Hawaii, coming back from a late two-shot deficit with birdies on the final three holes.[23] On May 4, Creamer won the SemGroup Championship, defeating Juli Inkster in a playoff for her second victory of the season.[24]

Creamer has endorsement deals with Taylor Made, Adidas, RBS, NEC, Kraft Foods, Sundog Eyewear, CDW, Aldila, Citizen Watch, and Bridgestone.[7][25] She also appeared in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, a video game developed by EA Sports.[26]

[edit] Personal life

Creamer was born in Mountain View, California and grew up in Pleasanton,[6][27] where she attended Foothill High School. In 2000, she moved to Bradenton, Florida to attend the IMG Golf Academy, where she graduated from the IMG-affiliated Pendleton High School the week after her first LPGA victory.[28] As of 2007, she lived in Isleworth, a gated community in Windermere, Florida.[17]

[edit] Association with color pink

Due to her fondness for wearing pink, Creamer's friend Casey Wittenberg nicknamed her the "Pink Panther".[29] The sobriquet followed her when she turned pro. Creamer's golf clubs have pink grips, and her bag is pink (complete with a Pink Panther head cover for her driver).[30] She uses a pink golf ball during the last round of every tournament provided by Precept Golf, one of her sponsors.[31][32]

[edit] Professional wins (8)

[edit] LPGA Tour (6)

[edit] Other (2)

[edit] Results in LPGA majors

Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Kraft Nabisco Championship DNP T45 T19 T24 T15 T21
LPGA Championship DNP DNP T3 T49 T6 T10
U.S. Women's Open CUT T13 TLA T19 T16 T16
Women's British Open DNP DNP T15 T22 T7

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.

[edit] LPGA Tour career summary

Year # of
events		 Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top
10s		 Earnings ($) Rank Scoring average
2003 3 2 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A 74.80
2004 7 7 0 1 0 1 N/A N/A 71.42
2005 25 24 2 4 2 11 1,531,780 2 70.98
2006 27 27 0 1 2 14 1,076,163 11 70.62
2007 24 22 2 2 2 13 1,384,798 3 70.50
2008* 12 12 2 1 1 5 923,742 3 70.57

*Current as of June 9, 2008.

[edit] Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Solheim Cup Record

Year Total Matches Total W-L-H Singles W-L-H Foursomes W-L-H Fourballs W-L-H Points Won Points %
Career 10 5-1-4 2-0-0 2-0-2 1-1-2 7 70%
2005 5 3-1-1 1-0-0 def. L. Davies 7&5 1-0-1 halved w/ B. Daniel, won w/ J. Inkster 3&2 1-1-0 lost w/ J. Inkster 4&3, won w/ C. Kerr 1up 3.5 70%
2007 5 2-0-3 1-0-0 def. M. Hjorth 2&1 1-0-1 won w/ J. Inkster 2&1, halved w/ J. Inkster 0-0-2 halved w/ M. Pressel, halved w/ B. Lincicome 3.5 70%

[edit] References

  1. ^ Junga, Steve. "Think pink: 18-year-old Creamer sets her sights high", The Toledo Blade, 2005-07-07. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  2. ^ Spousta, Tom. "Annika leads as Creamer, Wie give chase in world rankings", USA Today, 2006-02-21. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  3. ^ Women's World Golf Rankings. Ladies' Golf Union. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  4. ^ a b c Herrington, Ryan. She's One Pink Panther. Golf World. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
  5. ^ AJGA Girls Record Book. American Junior Golf Association. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  6. ^ a b Player Biography: Paula Creamer. United States Golf Association. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  7. ^ a b c d Paula Creamer Full Career Bio. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  8. ^ Creamer Medalist at LPGA Q-School. The Golf Channel (2004-12-05). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  9. ^ a b Creamer becomes 2nd-youngest LPGA winner. NBC Sports (2005-05-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  10. ^ a b Creamer clinches 2005 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. LPGA Tour (2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  11. ^ Creamer cruises to French title. BBC Sport (2005-07-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  12. ^ All Time Records. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  13. ^ Creamer tops home favorite at NEC Karuizawa. ESPN.com (2005-08-14). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  14. ^ Creamer captures event on Japan tour. ESPN.com (2005-10-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  15. ^ Bethan Cutler (2005-08-28). Lopez announces 2005 U.S. Solheim Cup Team. LET (Ladies European Tour). Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  16. ^ 2005 Player Performance Record. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  17. ^ a b Baldry, Beth Ann (2007-02-08). Rust remover: Creamer makes Hooters Tour stint to prepare for LPGA season. Golfweek. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  18. ^ 2006 Player Performance Record. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  19. ^ Creamer wins SBS Open for third career tour victory. ESPN.com (2007-02-18). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  20. ^ Creamer cruises to victory at LPGA's Tournament of Champions. Golf Magazine (2007-11-11). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  21. ^ 2007 Solheim Cup: Overall Player Records. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  22. ^ 2007 Player Performance Record. LPGA Tour. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  23. ^ Paula Creamer wins Fields Open with late rally. CBSSports.com (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  24. ^ "Creamer Wins; Ochoa's Streak Ends Without Fight", The New York Times, 2008-05-05. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 
  25. ^ DiMeglio, Steve. "Bubbly Creamer leads U.S. renaissance on LPGA tour", USA Today, 2008-02-13. Retrieved on 2008-04-03. 
  26. ^ Thomas, Aaron (2007-08-29). Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for PlayStation 3 Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  27. ^ Kroichick, Ron. "Creamer, Gulbis on top of game", San Francisco Chronicle, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  28. ^ Yen, Yi-Wyn. "Working Girl", Sports Illustrated, 2005-05-30. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  29. ^ Ginella, Matthew. American Idol. Golf Digest. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
  30. ^ Braswell, Tommy. "Creamer enjoying early success on LPGA", The Post and Courier, 2007-05-28. Retrieved on 2008-03-27. 
  31. ^ Sauerhaft, Rob (2006-06-22). Colorful Golf Balls. Golf Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
  32. ^ Paula Creamer with pink golf ball. The Washington Post (2006-05-11). Retrieved on 2007-08-20.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Women's World Golf Rankings | Top ten female golfers as of June 9, 2008
1. ▬ Flag of Mexico Lorena Ochoa 2. ▬ Flag of Sweden Annika Sörenstam 3. ▬ Flag of Norway Suzann Pettersen 4. ▬ Flag of the United States Paula Creamer 5. ▬ Flag of Australia Karrie Webb
6. ▲ Flag of the Republic of China Yani Tseng 7. ▬ Flag of the United States Cristie Kerr 8. ▼ Flag of South Korea Ji-Yai Shin 9. ▼ Flag of South Korea Jeong Jang 10. ▲ Flag of Sweden Maria Hjorth
v • d • e
2007 American Solheim Cup Team