Is Natalie Gulbus the next.....

[Madriver]

...Anna Kornakova? I know golf is a little different stage than tennis as you are not one on one against an opponet, but doesn't Natalie have to win soon to justify her mass marketed body? She's a great personality, but how far will that go for the sponsors? I see a lot of areas within her swing and putting that need to be overhauled before I think she can win. I also thought Butch Harmon was her coach. Anyway, thoughts, pics, and otherwise all the best to young Natalie.

[mRogers88]

frankly, i feel like she has great potential and skill. shes still kinda young and needs that "seniority" that you see in a lot of the pga/lpga greats.

plus i have to root for her. shes somewhat of a hometown girl. i was hearing about her a good while ago visiting a friend rob wilson at his radio show.

i really hope she doesnt flop like anna kourn. did.

[Clubswinger21]

Cool topic. She doesnt have the exposure that Anna K. did with tennis, and she's not near as hot as Anna is/was.. that all contributed to her downfall. Natalie is still young, she was -9 under at last weeks tourney and then shot 79 in the final round? Definetely has some trouble with cinsistancy. Im not sure if its her swing letting her down under pressure, or her putting. She sure does hit alot of good putts it seems, maybe they just have yet to start dropping for her.

To answer you question.. the LPGA needs more lookers like her and she's still competing on the LPGA tour. Your not going to be T3 heading into the final day if you're on the verge of flopping as a pro golfer. No she's not going to be the next Anna K. At least not anytime soon.

[GoFlyers]

Natalie is very uncomfortable with the whole glamour image thing. That is more her dad then her.
She is having a very rough start coming off her best season last year. She is not going to be in the top 5 LPGA players but I would expect her to be consistantly in the top 15. She is a good young player that has not reached her full potential yet. She is not Anna.

[NM Golf]

Somewhat of an unfair comparison if you ask me. Look at the two side by side. Natalie Gulbis has had a great deal more success in golf that Kournikova had in tennis. Gulbis is among the top players on the LPGA tour. She was 6th on the money list in 2005. She also had a pretty impressive amateur career before turning pro. Kournikova was never considered a top tier tennis player.

[RackleyGolf]

Great question...she does play well in tournaments up until a certain point, and then doesn't come through in the end. However, she works with Butch and has a lot of talent so I think she'll get a "W" under her belt this year.

Having admitedly watched an episode or two of the Natalie Gulbis show, I'd like to see her notch a WIN to see her Dad cut his hair (that's their deal...).

BTW...I think Natalie DUMPED my boy Ben Roethlisberger!!!

[mRogers88]

lol cuz he cant seem to stay off of his back:
-in the game
OR
-while riding his bike

[LarryK]

I get tired of the Natalie pin up show, so it's nice to hear she's not particularly wild about it either.

Having said that, Natalie's golf game is far, far better than Anna K's tennis game. With Anna, it's all about the skin and the Eastern European mystique.

For Natalie, winning is just a matter of time, and I think she is in contention often enough that there is no real time pressure for her to produce. It will happen.

[mkoreiwo]

I think - hope - she does notch a win soon, if not she will certainly get the rep of all show no go. Last year she dropped that tourny in the playoff - or was it on the 18th against Kim. She can play, but she seems to lose it on weekends when she is in contention.

Hope she gets the win this season. After that, I think she'll win more often.

[Guest]

Cool topic. She doesnt have the exposure that Anna K. did with tennis, and she's not near as hot as Anna is/was.. that all contributed to her downfall. Natalie is still young, she was -9 under at last weeks tourney and then shot 79 in the final round? Definetely has some trouble with cinsistancy. Im not sure if its her swing letting her down under pressure, or her putting. She sure does hit alot of good putts it seems, maybe they just have yet to start dropping for her.

Natalie fell apart? So did Laura Davies, Lorean Ochoa, Jerry Kelly and Ernie Els. Do you really think that Brittany Lincicome and Boo Weekly planned and played thier best without help from others? In Boo's case it was the GOLF Gods. Chipping in on 17 and 18 to win a million bucks. Damn, thats just the other ending to Tin CUp.

[Lemay427]

her voice is so annoying (gulbis). its like she is uncomfortable speaking

[PingZing2]

I get tired of the Natalie pin up show, so it's nice to hear she's not particularly wild about it either.

Me too.

[Guest]

Just a note here about Natalie. Let me start out by saying, Natalie is good for the LPGA and hopefully, she becomes one of it's top echelon players, along with being one of it's marketing standouts. The problem is, she possess a very unorthodox swing. How she compiled the record she has as a pro, is more about her desire than ability. I believe Harmon has helped immensly, by putting some hinge into her backswing, but overall it can't be counted on. I believe John should be commended in developing his daughter into a star on the LPGA, but at the same time has given her a swing that probably is on the worse swings of all time list. John, is one of a kind, but he's no teacher of the golf swing. In enlisting Harmons aid, he showed despite his uniqueness, an honest attempt to right the wrongs he had created over the years. Now, we read there's tension between he and Harmon and Natalie isn't playing well. Can there be any doubt why? Many have written about John and Natalie, but I contend it's been one of the success stories of parent /child relationships on any of the Tours. However, he has to permanently, get out of the way of the true experts, so they can help Natalie, continue to be competitive.