What happened to Natalie Gulbis, the original world famous star of the LPGA Tour?
In the mid-2000s, Natalie Gulbis was one of the most famous golfers on the planet, bringing a new image and style to women's professional golf.
According to NBC Sports, Gulbis released a 2005 calendar just before the 2004 Women's US Open. The calendar had pictures of Gulbis playing golf in swimwear.
The United States Golf Association deemed the calendar unacceptable and refused to sell it at the Women's US Open. However, Golf Canada sold the calendar openly.
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As her popularity grew in the late 2000s, so did her endorsement deals. Gulbis had endorsements with the likes of TaylorMade, Adidas, MasterCard, EA Sports, Lexus, and many more.
Her endorsement deal with EA Sports helped her appear on the 2007 version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour by EA Sports, featuring Woods, Ian Poulter, and Luke Donald.
Gulbis has an IMDB profile that lists off her television and acting credits. She has been on Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), The Apprentice USA, The Price is Right, and hosted her TV show called The Natalie Gulbis Show in 2005.
Despite her off-the-course success, after turning professional in 2001, Gulbis still hadn't won an LPGA Tour event by the start of 2007. However, that all changed in July 2007, winning the Evian Masters with a score of -4. This is her only LPGA Tour win in her career.
In 2005, Gulbis was one of the most consistent players on the Tour in the Majors, finishing T4, T5, and T8 at the US Women's Open, Women's PGA Championship, and Women's British Open.
According to Golf Monthly, Gulbis has played on three Solheim Cup teams in 2005, 2007, and 2009 for Team USA. She was a winner on all three teams, and her best performance came in 2005, scoring three points.
She retired from the LPGA Tour in 2020, and the highest world ranking she got to in her career was number 19 in 2006. She currently has a blog called 'Nine with Natalie' in which she gives golf tips.
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