Sports & Recreation

LPGA rookie enjoys her life in limelight

Beth Bauer, 22, discusses her life and work before departing for the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia.

By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2003

Beth Bauer, who learned golf at Summerfield Country Club in Riverview and honed her skills as a high school state champion at Bloomingdale, is embarking on her second year as one of the bright young stars on the LPGA Tour. Last year, the 22-year-old was the LPGA Rookie of the Year, with six top 10 finishes and 15 top 20 finishes. We caught up with Beth just before she left for the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia.

Ernest: What have you been doing since the end of the season in November?

Beth: The last couple of months I've really been working out hard. I've got a personal trainer and I've been trying to get a little stronger. And I got a swing instructor, too, to work on the fundamentals of my swing. I also got a new house. That's been exciting. It was a real sense of accomplishment for me.

When you were on the course at Bloomingdale or Summerfield, when you were in high school, were you thinking, 'I'm going to be in the contention in the Jamie Farr Classic; someday I'm going to make the top 30 and play in the final event of the year'?

I think growing up it had always been a dream, but I don't think I really knew what I was going to do. A lot of it came, not as a surprise, but I look back in awe. But I think my mind-set for this season has changed. Through those experiences, I feel like I can win this year. I feel like I'm getting to be a better player the more times I'm in contention and able to knock on the door of winning. I feel like I can knock it down and win one of these years.

What do you remember most from your high school days?

It was a lot of fun. I really didn't have a lot of close friends or a lot of friends I clicked with because it seemed like everyone was kind of wanting to experiment, stuff I wasn't really interested in. The friends I did find were usually on the golf team or other people who had some goals outside of high school. I was kind of a loner in a way.

How have you changed?

College changed a lot. When you go to a university (Duke) where everybody is pretty focused on something and everybody is really unique, I had a lot more friends. I really enjoyed college more than anything -- the first time moving away from home and living with my roommate. There were some great experiences being on a team.

So after two years, you decide to turn pro, but you failed to get a tour card at the LPGA qualifying school. That meant you had to go to the Futures Tour (the minor leagues for professional ladies). What was your reaction?

At first, when I missed out on Q school, I was devastated for two months. But then I decided I had to do it and I need to finish in the top three on the money list so I won't have to go back to Q school. Then it was good to have a goal. I had never played for money, and I think my first check was $500 or $600 and I just thought, 'Wow, this is so cool.'

But it wasn't as glamorous as the LPGA Tour.

Not at all, and I think that made me stronger and tougher. The Tour courses are pretty much fast greens, good conditions, great ranges, great clubhouses where you get fed two or three meals a day. The Futures Tour you're basically fending for yourself. Some of the places we played we were really out in the boonies. One of the places, the golf course was so far out it was 30 miles from the nearest hotel where we stayed and it was a truck stop.

Are you comfortable with being rich? I mean, you're rich ($480,000 in earnings). You have sponsorship deals, an agent, a house. You bought your mother a fishing boat.

I don't think I look at myself as being rich at all. Life is changing, but I still have dreams and I still have goals. I still have a lot of things that I want to accomplish. I don't sit back and count my pennies.

What about being a celebrity? Do you like that?

I don't mind the limelight. Annika (Sorenstam) has been a role model for me in the sense that she's really dominated on the tour. I like to watch her play and I love her golf swing. She's really a consistent player. But one thing I saw in an interview on GolfTalk Live is she doesn't really care for the limelight a lot. People say she's stand-offish, but that's the way she is. You can't really change that about somebody. But I like the limelight.