Paula
Creamer (born August 5, 1986), nicknamed the Pink
Panther, is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based
Ladies Professional
Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. In her four seasons as a professional,
she has won 10 tournaments, including eight LPGA Tour events. Creamer
has been as high as No. 2 in the Women's World Golf Rankings, and
as of June 2009 is the No. 3 female golfer in the world.
Raised in Pleasanton, California, Creamer won numerous junior golf
titles; among them were 11 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)
tournaments. Creamer joined the LPGA Tour for the 2005 season, and
her victory in that year's Sybase Classic made her the LPGA's second-youngest
event winner. After her first professional win, she earned three
more titles in 2005, including two in Japan, and was named LPGA Rookie
of the Year. Following a winless 2006 season, Creamer won twice in
2007 and four times in 2008.
Paula Creamer was born
in Mountain View, California, the only child of Paul and Karen
Creamer. She was raised in Pleasanton, where the family's home overlooked
the first tee of the Castlewood
Country Club's golf course. Creamer participated in acrobatic dancing
and gymnastics during her childhood, and started playing golf
when she was 10 years old. At the age of 12, she won 13 consecutive
regional junior events in Northern California, and the following
year she became the top-ranked female junior golfer in the state.
During Creamer's amateur career, she won 19 national
tournaments, including 11 American Junior Golf Association events,
and was
named Player of the Year by the AJGA in 2003. On two occasions (2002
and 2003), Creamer played on the United States team in the Junior
Solheim Cup. 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. In June 2004, Creamer
placed second in the LPGA Tour's ShopRite LPGA Classic, finishing
one stroke behind Cristie Kerr. Later that year, she tied for 13th
in the U.S. Women's Open and represented the United States in the
Curtis Cup.
Paula Creamer has endorsement
deals with many companies, including TaylorMade-adidas, Citizen Watch
Co., NEC, and the Royal
Bank of Scotland Group. Golf Digest estimated her 2008 endorsement
income to be $4.5 million, an amount that is third-highest among
female golfers. Her likeness
has been featured in EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of golf
video games. Since 2005, Creamer has done charitable work for The
First Tee, an organization that benefits junior golfers. She hosts
the Paula
4 Kids Celebrity Event, an annual outing that raises money for The
First Tee of Sarasota/Manatee. In addition, Creamer has appeared
at youth golf clinics and donated scholarships to the IMG Golf Academy.
Due to her fondness for wearing pink, Creamer's
friend Casey Wittenberg nicknamed her the "Pink Panther".
The sobriquet followed her when she turned pro. In addition to
her
pink outfits, Creamer
sports the color on several of her golf accessories, including her
club grips and golf bag. Creamer also uses a Pink Panther club
head cover, in a nod to her nickname. She uses a pink golf ball during
the last round of every tournament provided by Precept Golf, one
of her sponsors. |