The modern face of golf

There's a new force in golf. It is sweeping through America and Asia, potentially bringing millions of new players into the game. Broadcasting companies, blue-chip sponsors, equipment manufacturers - they are all sitting up and taking notice. We're talking about women's golf and how it is busy changing the face of the game forever.

Ladies' golf once languished in the shadow of the men's game. Now, players like Swede Annika Sorenstam and Americans Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer are bringing it firmly into the limelight. They are athletic and photogenic, they have charisma as well as talent, and they can hit the ball prodigious distances. Like the Williams sisters in tennis, they are elevating the game to new levels of performance.

Sponsors are queuing up to bask in the reflected glory of this new breed of young and talented sportswomen. Companies such as Nike (sponsoring Wie), Callaway (Sorenstam) and The RBS group (Creamer) are staking their reputations on the increased exposure these players will bring.
Nineteen-year-old Paula Creamer has already climbed the world rankings to number two, earning an impressive $1.5m in her first year on the LPGA tour. Her sponsorship portfolio of six major companies has her endorsing products as diverse as golf shafts and sunglasses.

"The sponsors I have are incredibly well rounded and are very well known in the world," she says. "For me, it's very important that they support not only my golf but women's golf in general. I'm very lucky that the people around me are very supportive." Paula recently hosted a two-day meeting with her sponsors near her Florida home. Earlier in the year she spent an afternoon at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, going from one of her sponsors to another, giving interviews, signing autographs and posing for pictures, all with a well-practised smile.

"Paula's determination was identified very early on when we were looking for ambassadors within the sport," says David Webb, RBS head of sponsorship. "The elements she created when she made it happen for her in golf are the areas that we associate ourselves with in business. She is determined and quietly getting on with what she is doing - and becoming very successful. It's these types of relationships that we enjoy."

It is obvious that Paula recognises her commercial value, but - like many of her fellow prodigies - she has only one goal in life: to be the best female golfer in the world.

"I've put in a lot of hard work in the off-season, and I believe that it's just a matter of time before I'm there," she states with confidence.

Women's golf has never been as strong as it is today, and having a player such as Paula leading the world rankings would push it much closer to the men's game in terms of exposure and potential revenue streams. There are already talks in place with the golf-ball company Bridgestone about Paula getting involved in a marketing campaign for pink golf balls.

Alongside Morgan Pressel and Michelle Wie, Paula represents not only the playing future but also the commercial future of the women's game, a fact she fully realises. Recently, she donated two sponsor's scholarships to the IMG Academy - the sports complex for athletes in Bradenton, Florida, where she learned the game.

"They will be in a full-time programme doing the exact same thing that I went through," she says with obvious satisfaction. "It will even include the same school that I graduated from. It will be so good to be able to give two young players the chance I had, and it's a great way for me to be able to put something back into the game. I go there and see young girls who tell me that they went there because I did, and I think that's great. But, hopefully, in my career I can influence not only girls but also boys to get into golf."

It is apparent that Paula's appeal crosses both sexes and spans a wide range of age groups. Watch her signing autographs at any of her 30-plus tournaments a year and you'll see an equal amount of men and women, young and old, lining up for her signature. Each recipient gets not only a clearly written autograph ("that's a lesson I learned from Arnold Palmer," she says), but also a few moments of her rapt attention.

Clearly, Paula has it in her to be a considerable force for good in a game that is crying out for role models - despite its wealthy associations. On this point, Paula's view is simple: "I want to be someone who changes women's golf."