A career off to a glittering start With two wins already, teenager Paula Creamer has taken the LPGA by storm Sunday, August 14, 2005 By MIKE TOKITO, more at The Oregonian>> Paula Creamer was sitting in the interview room at the U.S. Women's Open during a pretournament news conference. As she had so many times during her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, Creamer calmly answered questions with poise and maturity that seemed years beyond her age of 18. At one point, moderator Rhonda Glenn noticed something on Creamer's arms. "You look as if you are covered with star dust," Glenn said. "You have little sparkles." Without flinching or missing a beat, Creamer said, "My lotion has sparkles in it." Later, a reporter began a question by saying that, other than her preference for all things pink and the glitter on her arms, she seemed mature beyond her years. Finally, Creamer's calm was broken. She broke into giggling fit as she said, "Are you saying my glitter is not mature?" It might be the only thing about her that isn't. Creamer, who turned 19 this month, has skyrocketed onto the LPGA Tour. She is running away with the points-based rookie of the year race, with more than twice as many points as any other first-year player. But rookie honors are too limiting to properly frame Creamer's impact. She is one of the top players on tour of any experience. She has won twice and is second on the money list with $1,144,948 -- only 10 other LPGA players have topped $1 million in a season -- and is in position to play on the U.S. team that will take on Europe in next month's Solheim Cup. This from a player who travels with her parents to all events and is too young to drink celebratory champagne or rent a car. Even in an era in which teens seem to be flooding the LPGA Tour, Creamer stands out. In May, she made a 17-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole and won the Sybase Classic, becoming the second-youngest first-time winner in LPGA Tour history and the youngest since 1952. Last month, she lapped a strong field at the Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France, winning by eight shots. Creamer exudes an outward calm in all she does. She wears glitter -- but not her heart -- on her sleeve. In many ways, Creamer is the opposite of amateur Morgan Pressel, the Women's Open runner-up who seems to express every emotion she feels. Creamer traces her outward calm to participating in activities that require conveying stillness no matter what emotions are churning underneath. "I think the main thing for me is that I used to be a gymnast and a dancer," she said. "I had to be able to perform in front of thousands of people, so I don't know, I just feel very comfortable." Creamer, who grew up in Pleasanton, Calif., didn't start playing golf until she was 10. But she was hooked right away and soon was a dominant junior player. Looking to get even better, she found IMG Academies on the Internet. The Bradenton, Fla., facility helps athletes in a variety of sports reach the highest levels while attending school. She talked her family into moving across the country, and she enrolled at 14. Surrounded by world-class athletes, Creamer continued to improve, becoming the top-ranked amateur in the country by the time she was 17. "Where I am at, there are so many great athletes that come through," Creamer said. Creamer gushes about Olympic track gold medalist Michael Johnson, who works as a speed coach at the school. "He's just so real about everything," Creamer said. "Just hearing stories about from what he went through, his training, and how much dedication that he went through. . . . He called me after my win to say congratulations. I mean, that's awesome. I think that was one of the nicest phone calls that I got." Creamer hardly has taken a just-happy-to-be-here approach to being a pro, setting high goals for her first year, including winning and making the Solheim Cup team. Creamer's inclusion in the Solheim is a big deal on a tour that has had a dearth of young U.S. players winning big. Creamer is, in many minds, the Great U.S. Hope, a player who might someday challenge Annika Sorenstam. "To be called the next great American, that does put a lot of pressure on me," Creamer said. "But I thrive off of pressure. It makes me practice harder. It makes me try to represent my country more." Already, Creamer's scores make the bottom-of-the-screen scrolling scoreboard on The Golf Channel -- usually limited to the top of the leaderboard -- no matter what place she's in. It's an honor usually reserved for the likes of Sorenstam and Tiger Woods. Creamer's fondness for all things pink -- her driver has a pink shaft and her wedges have pink grips -- has added to her name recognition. When Ian Poulter wore a pink outfit at the British Open, he was "just like Paula Creamer," as Paul Azinger said on ABC. Being known for her potential, youth and fondness for pink is fine, but Creamer ultimately would love to be known for being the best. "I am playing against the greatest players in the world every day, and I think that that's fantastic," Creamer said. "That only helps me get better and only helps me, motivates me to be the No. 1 player in the world."