Paula Creamer facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Paula Creamer
Creamer at the 2013 Kingsmill Championship
Personal information
Full name	Paula Creamer
Nickname	The Pink Panther
Born	(1986-08-05) August 5, 1986 (age 39) Mountain View, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Windermere, Florida, U.S.
Spouse	Derek Heath (m. 2014; div. 2018)
Career
Turned professional	2004
Current tour(s)	LPGA Tour (joined 2005)
Professional wins	12
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	10
LPGA of Japan Tour	2
Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Kraft Nabisco C'ship	T13: 2013
LPGA Championship	T3: 2005, 2011
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 2010
Women's British Open	3rd/T3: 2009, 2012
The Evian Championship	7th: 2014
Achievements and awards
American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Player of the Year	2003
Golf Digest Junior of the Year	2003
Golf Digest Amateur of the Year	2004
LPGA Rookie of the Year	2005

Creamer during a practice round at the 2009 LPGA Championship

Paula Creamer (born August 5, 1986) is an American professional golfer. She plays on the LPGA Tour, which is a top golf tour for women in the U.S. As a professional, Paula has won 12 tournaments. This includes 10 events on the LPGA Tour. She even reached number 2 in the Women's World Golf Rankings. In 2010, she became the champion of the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. By the end of 2023, Paula was among the top 20 highest-earning golfers in LPGA history. She had earned over $12 million!

Before turning professional, Paula won many junior golf titles. This included 11 tournaments with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). She joined the LPGA Tour in 2005. That same year, she won the Sybase Classic. This made her the second-youngest player to win an LPGA event.

Paula Creamer's Early Life and Golf Start
Becoming a Pro Golfer
How Paula Plays Golf
Paula's Life Off the Course
Major Championship Wins
Awards and Honors
Images for kids
See also

Paula Creamer's Early Life and Golf Start

Paula Creamer was born in Mountain View, California. She grew up in Pleasanton. She was the only child of an airline pilot and a stay-at-home mom. Their home was right next to the first tee of a golf course.

When she was younger, Paula enjoyed acrobatic dancing and gymnastics. She started playing golf at age 10. By age 12, she won 13 junior events in a row in northern California. The next year, she was the best female junior golfer in California. In 2000, she moved to Bradenton, Florida. There, she went to IMG Pendleton School. This school helps young athletes prepare for college.

During her time as an amateur, Paula won 19 national tournaments. This included 11 AJGA events. The AJGA named her Player of the Year in 2003. She played for the U.S. team in the Junior Solheim Cup in 2002 and 2003. She also did very well in other big amateur tournaments. In June 2004, Paula finished second in the LPGA Tour's ShopRite LPGA Classic. She was just one stroke behind the winner. Later that year, she played for the United States in the Curtis Cup.

In December 2004, Paula won the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. She won by five strokes! This meant she could join the LPGA Tour for the 2005 season. She decided to become a professional golfer right after this event, at just 18 years old.

Becoming a Pro Golfer

First Years as a Pro (2005-2007)

When Paula joined the LPGA Tour in 2005, she quickly became a top player. On May 22, she won the Sybase Classic by one stroke. She made a 17-foot birdie putt on the last hole. This made her the youngest winner of a multi-round tournament in LPGA history at the time. Her record was later broken in 2011.

On July 23, she won her second title of the year. She won the Evian Masters in France by a huge eight-shot lead. She also became the youngest and fastest player to earn $1 million in LPGA career earnings. In August, Paula won the NEC Open on the Japan LPGA tour. Two months later, she won the Masters GC Ladies tournament.

Paula also earned a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team. She was the youngest player ever to do so. She helped the U.S. team win the cup. For her amazing first season, Paula won the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. She earned over $1.5 million, which was the second-highest on the money list. She also had eight top-three finishes.

After her great first year, Paula was ranked second in the first-ever Women's World Golf Rankings in 2006. However, her 2006 season was not as successful. She didn't win any tournaments. She also had wrist and foot injuries. Still, Paula earned over $1 million and made the cut in all 27 tournaments she played. She had 14 top-10 finishes. Her best result was tying for second place.

In 2007, Paula bounced back and won two LPGA Tour titles. On February 17, she won her third LPGA title at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. She made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to win by one shot. In November, Paula won The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions. She beat her opponent by eight strokes. She also played in her second Solheim Cup. She was unbeaten in five matches, helping the U.S. team keep the cup. That season, she had 13 top-10 finishes and earned over $1.3 million.

Big Wins and Challenges (2008-2009)

In 2008, Paula won a career-high four LPGA events. She earned more than $1.8 million, her highest amount in one season. In February 2008, she won her fifth LPGA title at the Fields Open in Hawaii. She came back from being two shots behind by making birdies on the last three holes.

On April 27, Paula almost won again but lost in a sudden-death playoff. The next week, she won the SemGroup Championship in a playoff. At the U.S. Women's Open, she was close to winning her first major championship. But a tough final round dropped her to a tie for sixth.

On July 10, she shot an amazing 11-under 60 at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. This was just one stroke away from the LPGA Tour record of 59. She won the tournament by two strokes. Paula's fourth win of 2008 came in October at the Samsung World Championship. She won by one stroke. This made her the first American to have four or more wins in an LPGA Tour season since 1999. In November, Paula helped the International team win the Lexus Cup.

At the end of the 2008 season, Paula was in the hospital with a stomach problem. This issue continued to affect her in early 2009. Doctors couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong. At the 2009 U.S. Women's Open, she tied for sixth place. In her third Solheim Cup, she won three out of four matches. The U.S. team won the competition again. Paula finished 10th on the 2009 LPGA money list, earning over $1.1 million. Her best finishes that year were two second-place results.

Major Victory and Comebacks (2010-2011)

Creamer at the 2011 CME Group Titleholders

Paula had to withdraw from the first event of the 2010 season. She had a left thumb injury that started in June 2009. The injury needed surgery in March 2010. During the surgery, doctors found more serious damage to her thumb. She had to take a long break from golf. Her thumb was still healing when she returned in June. In her first tournament back, she finished seventh.

On July 11, 2010, in only her fourth tournament after surgery, Paula won the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. She was the only golfer to finish under par for the tournament. She scored 3-under-par, four strokes ahead of her closest competitors. This was Paula's first victory in a major championship! The U.S. Women's Open was her only win that season. But she still had four top-10 finishes in 14 starts.

Paula didn't win a tournament in 2011. However, she had seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. Her best results were two ties for second place. Paula was again chosen for the U.S. Solheim Cup team in 2011. She won three of her first four matches. But the American team lost to Europe that year.

Close Calls and Team Play (2012-2013)

Creamer at the 2013 Kingsmill Championship

At the 2012 Kingsmill Championship, Paula tied with another player. They went into a playoff. They played eight extra holes, and both kept making par. The playoff had to stop because it got too dark. It started again the next day. Paula lost on the ninth playoff hole. This was the longest two-player playoff in LPGA Tour history! The next week, she finished third at the Women's British Open.

In 2012, Paula earned over $800,000 and had seven top-10 finishes. But she couldn't get a win that year.

During the 2013 season, she earned over $800,000 again. She finished in the top-10 six times. She also played in the 2013 Solheim Cup. But the U.S. team lost this time.

More Wins and Solheim Cup Heroics (2014-2016)

Paula's 2014 season started strong with two third-place finishes. On March 2, 2014, Paula won her first LPGA tournament since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. At the HSBC Women's Champions tournament in Singapore, she was tied after 72 holes. On the second playoff hole, she made an amazing 75-foot eagle putt to win! For the rest of the season, she had one more top-10 finish. Her earnings in 2014 were over $700,000. Her money list ranking was 22nd, which was her lowest at that point.

After missing the cut in four tournaments in a row, Paula's world ranking dropped in September 2015. She was trying out new swing techniques and equipment. Even though she didn't qualify for the 2015 Solheim Cup team based on points, she was chosen to play. This was her sixth time in the event. The U.S. team was far behind going into the final day. But they made an amazing comeback! Paula helped by winning her singles match, which clinched the Cup for the U.S. team. In 2015, her earnings were under $400,000.

Paula changed her swing coach before the 2016 season. She had worked with her previous coach for 15 years. She started working with Gary Gilchrist. At the first LPGA tournament of 2016, Paula finished in the top five. She tied for fourth place at another event. But then she had a tough time, missing the cut seven times. Her 2016 earnings were under $300,000.

Later Career and Family (2017-Present)

In 2017, Paula missed the cut in four out of five tournaments at one point. This included the U.S. Women's Open. She had to play in a special qualifier to get into the Women's British Open. She also wasn't initially chosen for the 2017 Solheim Cup team. However, she was picked as a replacement when another player got injured. Paula won three of her four matches, and the U.S. team won the Cup again. In September, she had to withdraw from a tournament because of a left wrist injury. After another withdrawal, she had surgery to fix it. Paula had one top-10 finish in 2017. She ended the year with under $150,000 in earnings.

In 2018, Paula's earnings dropped further. Her highest finish was 12th place. In 2019, she improved slightly, earning about $145,000. She had two top-10 results, with a tie for sixth place being her best. Paula skipped the entire 2020 season to heal her wrist and thumb injuries. She returned to play some events in 2021, making one cut in seven tournaments. She then took a break for over a year because she was having a baby. She returned to play in mid-2022. In her five tournaments that year, she made two cuts.

Paula played in 13 tournaments in 2023. She missed the cut in all but two of them. As of the end of 2023, Paula was 19th on the all-time LPGA career money list. She had earned $12,161,187. In 2024, she helped the U.S. Solheim Cup team as an assistant captain, and they won!

How Paula Plays Golf

Creamer's golf swing

Paula's drives (the first shot on a hole) are usually not the longest. In 2012, her average driving distance was about 245 yards. This ranked her 193rd on the LPGA Tour. Some experts have said that her shorter hitting might stop her from being a "dominating player." However, she is known for being very accurate when hitting the ball.

In 2012, Paula was not among the top players for putts per round. One golf magazine described her putting as "sometimes balky," meaning it could be a bit inconsistent. Early in her career, she was often high in the rankings for hitting "greens in regulation" (hitting the green in a certain number of strokes). But by 2014, she was ranked 51st in that area.

Paula's friend, Casey Wittenberg, gave her the nickname "The Pink Panther." This is because she loves to wear pink! This nickname stuck with her when she became a professional. Besides her pink outfits, Paula uses pink on her golf equipment. This includes her club grips and golf bag. She also has a Pink Panther club head cover. From 2006 to 2009, she even used a pink golf ball in the final round of some tournaments.

Paula's Life Off the Course

Paula graduated from the IMG Pendleton School right after winning her first LPGA tournament in 2005. In 2007, she moved to Isleworth in Windermere, Florida.

Paula has endorsement deals with several companies. These include TaylorMade-Adidas, Citizen Watch Co., Ricoh, and Bridgestone Golf. In 2013, Forbes magazine estimated her endorsement income to be $4.5 million. This placed her among the top 10 highest-earning female athletes that year. You might have even seen her in the EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour video games!

Since 2005, Paula has done a lot of charity work for The First Tee. This organization helps young golfers. She hosts an annual event called the Paula 4 Kids Celebrity Event. This event raises money for The First Tee of Sarasota/Manatee. Paula also attends youth golf clinics. She has given scholarships to IMG Academy. She also has her own foundation that helps junior golfers and military families.

On December 16, 2013, Paula announced she was engaged to Derek Heath. He was a pilot and a U.S. Air Force veteran. They got married in 2014. In March 2018, Paula shared that she and Derek were no longer together. As of 2021, she is engaged to Shane Kennedy, a former baseball player. Paula gave birth to her first child on January 7, 2022.