from Business Week: With rare exceptions, the women of the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. are not the sort of half-dressed hotties who fill the pages of mens’ magazines like FHM. Then there’s Natalie Gulbis.
Gulbis’ decision to pose for FHM wasn’t one she came to alone, however. A PR firm, retained by the LPGA, aided in soliciting the shoot, as it did an offer for Gulbis to appear on Howard Stern’s radio gabfest. (Gulbis turned that one down.) “As our players become recognizable celebrities, more unconventional media outlets are becoming interested. If Natalie is comfortable [posing in FHM], we’re supportive of the decision” says Commissioner Ty Votaw, who has been urging players to leverage their looks and charm, as well as their swings.
Gulbis and her advisers, led by her dad, John, have turned her sex appeal into one of the more impressive marketing machines on the LPGA Tour. Her deals with TaylorMade, Adidas, Titleist, MET-Rx, GeniSoy, and EA Sports will generate more than a half-million dollars this year.
Ahh, I see that golf now has its own Anna Kournikova. I wonder if SHE will win any tournaments of consequence, or is just “being there” enough?
“Being there” was good enough for Chauncy Gardiner.