Creamer eager for another major
Paula Creamer is preparing for the final LPGA Tour major of the year, the Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale, and she is ready to eager to add another major title to her resume.
"I feel like my whole career, it's always been about majors," the 23-year-old said. "That was the one thing I didn't have. And now that I do, I only want more. It's like opening a can of worms. I can't wait to play the British Open, because I know what it takes to win."
Creamer has worked her way up to the elite circle of top female golfers, but the journey hasn’t always been easy.
Three times she was favored to win on the biggest stage in the sport – the U.S. Open – and two times she fell apart with bad decisions or a bad swing. When she was an 18-year-old rookie Creamer was one shot behind lead and poised to take the lead. She tried driving the 10th green but triple bogeyed and ended her hopes with a final score of 79. She would have to endure another disappointing loss before finally winning the tournament at Oakdale this year.
Creamer took on the reputed hardest golf course in America with a left thumb still in bandages from a reconstructive surgery that had kept her out of the game four months. After working with swing coach David Whelan, Creamer played beautifully and never once buckled until she had secured her four-shot victory.
Creamer now has nine victories and one major, and is looking to get another one. Creamer has accomplished a lot for someone her age, but it came with a price.
"I think I am older than my age," she confessed. "I had to grow up pretty fast. There are times when I'm a young 23, but on the golf course, I've definitely matured much faster than my age. But there's still so much I have to learn."
Weeks before graduating from high school, Creamer won her first LPGA Tour event as well as her first Solheim Cup. She has played on three winning Solheim teams, and lost only twice in 14 matches. Creamer is also one of the most marketable players in the LPGA, and mingles with business executives at corporate outings.
Creamer has been on the Tour six years and only has one major, whereas other great female golfers have had several under their belts well before their sixth year. Annika Sorenstam won the first of her 10 majors during her second year with the Tour; Se Pi Pak already won two while she was still a rookie; Karrie Webb own her first major during her fourth season and by her sixth had the career Grand Slam as well.
Creamer risks being forgotten and left behind if she can’t secure another major, and quickly too. It was important for her to win that first major, but she still has a lot of work ahead, and with a thumb injury that threatened to end her career before she ever got a chance to kick start it, she has to work even harder.
Creamer is No.7 in the Women’s World Ranking and has never been so close to the No.1 spot as she is now. There hasn’t been a dominant player in the field as the past couple of months three players have visited the top spot, Jiyai Shin, Cristie Kerr, and Ai Miyazato.
Ever since her teenage years Creamer has dreamed about making it to No.1, and with the current game of ‘musical chairs’ the leading LPGA ladies are playing, it seems only a matter of time before she plunks herself down in the top spot. Creamer is keeping things in perspective until then,
"It's going to take awhile for one person to dominate. We've got eight players, 10 players who can win every week. We've never had that. We've never had that strength. We had Annika dominate, Lorena dominate. This makes it exciting. But somebody has to push a little."
The momentum behind American golf has also picked up since Kerr won the LPGA Championship and Creamer the U.S. Open at Oakmont. If an American player wins at Birkdale it will be the first time since 1996.
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