Natalie Anne Gulbis (born January 7, 1983) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of week ...

Golf career

Gulbis was born and raised in the

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, area. She has Latvian ancestry. Gulbis started finding interest in the game at the early age of four. By the time she reached age seven, she had won her first tournament, and at age ten, she reports she was breaking par. She played in her first LPGA Tour event in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

as an amateur at the age of 14 (handicap of 2). Gulbis was the top player on the boys' golf team at Granite Bay High School and graduated at age 16. She then accepted a golf scholarship to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, the 2000 national champions, where she was a teammate of fellow freshman, Lorena Ochoa. After one season at Arizona, Gulbis left college to turn

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

in July 2001 at age 18. At the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in October 2001 at Daytona Beach, Florida, Gulbis finished tied for third to earn her card for the 2002 season. Although Gulbis did not win a tournament until her sixth season on tour, she finished sixth on the LPGA money list in her fourth season with over $1 million in earnings in 2005. She placed in the top 10 in four consecutive major championships from the 2005 LPGA Championship to the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Her first professional win came at the July 2007

Evian Masters The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where she defeated

Jeong Jang Jeong Jang ( ko, 장정, born 11 June 1980) is a South Korean professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She was also a member of the LPGA of Korea Tour. Jang was born in Daejeon, South Korea. She started playing golf at the ...

in a playoff. Gulbis tapped in for a two-putt birdie on the first extra hole to claim the winner's prize of $450,000. Gulbis has played on three victorious U.S.

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian- American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force b ...

teams – 2005, 2007, and 2009. Gulbis announced she will retire after the

2020 LPGA Tour The 2020 LPGA Tour was the 71st edition of the LPGA Tour, a series of professional golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world. The season began at the Four Season Golf Club in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on January 16 and ende ...

season.

Personal life, business and media

Gulbis is an only child. She was considered to be a sex symbol in the LPGA. Natalie released a 2005 calendar, just before the 2004 U.S. Women's Open, which featured her not only playing golf, but also striking poses in swimwear. The

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

(USGA) barred it from being sold at the event, deeming it inappropriate. The calendar was sold openly at Golf Canada; the USGA was criticized for overreacting. Gulbis also posed for the November 2004 issue of the magazine ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'', an issue that also gave away a chance to play golf with her at her home course, the Lake Las Vegas Resort, where her calendar photo shoot took place. Gulbis has said that she likes the attention she gets, even if it is for her appearance; she has endorsement deals with McGladrey LLP, TaylorMade/Adidas, Canon, Michelob Ultra, SkyCaddie, Payment Data Systems, MasterCard, Winn Golf Grips, Lake Las Vegas Resort, Pure Silk, Lexus, and EA Sports. In 2006, Gulbis began writing a monthly advice column in ''

''. In November 2005 a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show, ''The Natalie Gulbis Show'', made its debut on

The Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

. The show had its second-season premiere on October 18, 2006. Gulbis also has appeared on the 2007 version of

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ''PGA Tour'' is a series of golf video games developed and published by Electronic Arts - and later their EA Sports sub-label - since 1990. The series primarily features courses featured on the U.S. PGA Tour, and other notable courses (such as t ...

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

, along with fellow professionals,

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 intern ...

Ian Poulter Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. He has previously been ranked as high as number 5 in the world rankings. The highlights of Poulter's career to date have been his two ...

, and Luke Donald, among others. In August 2007 Gulbis appeared on the August/September cover of '' Sactown Magazine'' in an article that profiled the rising star's busy life of product endorsements and photo shoots, though, no pro win. Gil Ozir, Vice President of Marketing for Raymond Weil, a luxury watchmaker and one of Gulbis' endorsement deals, was quoted as saying, "Once she starts winning, she's going to be a megastar". A few days later, Gulbis won the

, her first professional LPGA title. In 2009, Gulbis appeared in the second season of ''

Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

''. Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of their choice; Gulbis selected the Boys and Girls Club. She was fired on the April 19, 2009 episode of the show. Gulbis appeared on the April 28, 2009, episode of ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'' as a Showcase theme. She also participated in a playing

Hole in One In golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one (also known as an ace, mostly in American English) occurs when a ball hit from a tee to start a hole finishes in the cup. A ball hit from a tee following a lost ball, out-of-bounds, or water hazard is not a h ...

to perform the game's "inspiration putt". She appeared on '' Sports Jobs with Junior Seau,'' where Seau worked as her caddy during the pro-am round for the Safeway Classic in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. In 2010, she appeared in the tenth season of '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' at the 12th episode "Long Ball". Gulbis appeared in the 2012 ''

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted co ...

'' wearing only body paint. Gulbis contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

during the

HSBC Women's Champions The HSBC Women's World Championship is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour first held in 2008. It was played on the Garden Course of the Tanah Merah Country Club in eastern Singapore, adjacent to Singapore Changi Airport f ...

tournament in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in late February 2013 and missed a tournament while recovering. In July 2013, Gulbis became engaged to Josh Rodarmel, a former quarterback for

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. They were married in December. In 2016, Gulbis spoke at the Republican National Convention in support of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. There was speculation that she would run for the open 3rd congressional district of Nevada as a Republican in 2018. In May 2018, President

appointed Gulbis to serve as a member of his Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.

Professional wins (1)

LPGA Tour (1)

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Results in LPGA majors

''Results not in chronological order before 2015.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013 CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (2004 Kraft Nabisco – 2006 British Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2005 LPGA - 2006 Kraft Nabisco)

LPGA Tour career summary

* Official through 2020 season * Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

World ranking

Position in

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by eight women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association ( ...

at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

Professional *

(representing the United States): 2005 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2009 (winners) *

Lexus Cup The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour,

(representing International team): 2005 (winners), 2006, 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

(winners) *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing the United States): 2006 * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing the LPGA Tour): 2006, 2007 (winners), 2008, 2009 (winners), 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 (winners)

Solheim Cup Record

References

External links

* * *
Arizona Wildcats.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulbis, Natalie American female golfers Arizona Wildcats women's golfers LPGA Tour golfers Solheim Cup competitors for the United States Golf writers and broadcasters Golfers from Sacramento, California Golfers from Nevada Participants in American reality television series The Apprentice (franchise) contestants Nevada Republicans American people of Latvian descent People from Henderson, Nevada 1983 births Living people