Pleasanton's Creamer already a gifted golfer

Oakland Tribune, Feb 25, 2005 by Anthony Cotton, DENVER POST

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The morning sun had barely begun its rise up a cloudless sky, but on the campus of the IMG Academy class was already in session.

On a pitch to the right, soccer wunderkind Freddy Adu went through his paces with teammates from Major League Soccer's D.C. United. Not far to the left, former Utah quarterback Alex Smith tried to perfect skills already enhanced enough to likely make him a top-five pick in April's NFL draft.

And somewhere in between Adu and Smith -- in any number of ways - - was Paula Creamer. About five years ago, living in Pleasanton, Creamer took it upon herself to look into this haven for the athletically gifted. The latest step in her journey began Thursday, when the 18-year-old teed it up for the first time as a professional in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay in Hawaii, the first event of the LPGA season.

"It was a match made in heaven," Creamer says of her time at the David Ledbetter Golf Academy, one of five sports now available at the IMG facility. "When I came here I fell in love with the atmosphere, all the athletes training to be the best, to be No.1."

Competitive fire

Being on top has been Creamer's desire for as long as she can remember. In kindergarten, she raced schoolmates to be first in line; in elementary school she competed for the best grades.

"I think I got that from my dad, but it's all I've ever known, being incredibly competitive and not wanting to lose," she said.

During her time at the academy, working with her own coach and fitness trainer, being nurtured in the art of competition during breakfasts with the likes of Olympic sprint champion Michael Johnson, Creamer dominated junior and amateur golf.

Among her myriad highlights, Creamer was named the 2003 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year; in 2003 and 2004 she was a semifinalist in the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Junior Girls championships.

But it wasn't Creamer's junior and amateur record that led Colin Cann, a veteran caddie who has looped for Annika Sorenstam and Grace Park, to leave his employer for the past four years, Se Ri Pak, and join Creamer's team.

Cann admitted to having problems recently with Pak, who at only 27 has four major championships on her resume, but said he was willing to work out their differences. He didn't bother to do so, however, when Creamer came along.

"I've been lucky enough in my career to work with some really great players and I see that in Paula; someone with her talent doesn't come along that often," Cann said.

Creamer won the LPGA's qualifying tournament last December by five strokes; a month earlier, she tied for first in the qualifier for the Futures Tour, the LPGA's developmental circuit.

By then, the decision to turn pro was a foregone conclusion, in part because of what the then-17-year-old did during her summer vacation. After leading the U.S. team to a victory over Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup, she returned home in June for the LPGA's ShopRite Classic, playing on a sponsor's exemption.

Shooting a 10-under-par 203, Creamer lost by one stroke to Cristie Kerr. The day after the final round, she played 36 holes to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, then traveled to Rochester, N.Y., for the Wegman's tournament, finishing 13th.

In all, Creamer played seven professional events and made every cut, including a 13th-place finish in the Open, which automatically qualifies her for this year's event to be held in June at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver.

"She's pretty battle-tested as far as the routine, living out of a suitcase, hotels, planes, playing on a strange course -- two practice rounds, one practice round, boom, go play," said her father, Paul Creamer. "We've purposely played her on all kinds of surfaces, in all kinds of conditions, from the state of Washington to Europe. She's traveled a lot, and playing that kind of schedule and going to school full-time, that's a pro's schedule.

"We purposely accepted those exemptions in that stretch back-to- back-to-back so she could see the life on the tour -- fatigue, dealing with the media and everything that went with it. And at the Open, if Paula had putted well, she would have won that thing. We're sitting there trying to truly evaluate this thing and going, 'Wow, the best in the world were there and she finished 13th and not necessarily playing her best.'"

Her own dream

Even though all signs pointed toward his daughter having success on the LPGA tour, Paul Creamer said he still hoped she would attend college. But college coaches told her she was ready for the pros, and Paula had already made her decision.

"One day she looked at me and said, 'Dad, this whole thing about high school and college and all of that, that's your dream, it's not necessarily mine,'" Paul said.

While some children have a hard time standing up to Dad, Paula didn't flinch.

"I think my goals are a lot bigger and higher than I think he ever thought they'd be," Paula said. "The expectations I have for myself, the standards I have for myself are incredibly high. He's getting to know that now."