Natalie Gulbis can now pose in bikinis with the confidence of a winner. (Courtesy nataliegulbis.com)

Natalie Gulbis' first LPGA Tour win heats up Golfer Supremacy Rankings

By William K. Wolfrum,
Contributor

The Golfer Supremacy Rankings graduate from golf-blog fodder to full-fledged column! And it couldn't get off to a hotter start than by celebrating Natalie Gulbis' first LPGA Tour victory.

There was a time, not long ago, when we here at the Golfer Supremacy Rankings were satisfied to exist as a humble blog post. Those days are over.

The Golfer Supremacy Rankings have graduated to full-scale feature presentation here at BadGolfer.com, and you readers could not be any luckier.

Because here at the GSRs, we are but slaves to current events. Players earn their way to the top of our list. Unless of course they don't. But when they do, it just gives us the warm and fuzzies.

Which is why seeing Natalie Gulbis score her first LPGA Tour victory warmed our cockles. That's what the young, talented and lovely Ms. Gulbis does - she's a cockle-warmer.

She's also proving to be a heck of a golfer. Make no mistake, 2007 is now a breakthrough year for Gulbis, much as it's been for her fellow young gun Morgan Pressel. So without further ado, we present this week's greatest golfers.

Golfer Supremacy Rankings

1. Natalie Gulbis

Comments: With her victory at the Evian Masters, Gulbis moved to No. 15 on the LPGA money list while remaining No. 1 on the list of LPGA golfers men drool over.

Certainly, there's a chance too much will be made of Gulbis' win. But keep this in mind: She was already one of the most popular women in the LPGA without winning. If the former University of Arizona star can keep up the pace and pocket a few more victories, the Tour can be hers, regardless of what Pressel, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer or Michelle Wie do.

Add success on the field to Gulbis' sexy bikini calendars and a bubbly personality and she could soon be the most popular female athlete in the U.S.

2. Jim Furyk:

Comments: No word on whether Furyk is planning to do a sexy bikini calendar, which is just fine for his legion of fans. He kept them happy by acing No. 4 in the final round of the Canadian Open and winning his 13th PGA Tour title.

Interesting fact: Furyk, currently the world's No. 2 golfer, has one more Tour victory than the guy ahead of him, Tiger Woods, has major victories.

3. Jessica Alba

Comments: OK, maybe the young starlet gets too high a ranking here, but she does enjoy golf and is a very nice ambassador for the sport. Plus, her inclusion gives you a chance to wash the Jim Furyk from your eyes. Going right from Gulbis to Furyk was unsporting of us.

4. Sam Alexis Woods

Comments: If you thought Tiger could care less about the FedExCup before his daughter's birth, you can only imagine how little it concerns him now. Already the possessor of more dollars than several humans could spend in several lifetimes, Woods has very little incentive to grind out many more events this season.

Here's the scary part: Tiger could play twice more this season, win the PGA Championship and, with just 13 starts, lead the FedEx Cup points chase - then bail on the whole playoff deal to spend time with young Sam Alexis. Basically, by being born, she makes it more likely that Furyk or Vijay Singh takes home $10 million.

Random Factoid: Lindsay Smith, an executive with Royal Bank of Scotland, is a cheater at golf. Period, end of discussion. Having been accused of "inappropriate marking of his ball" on two greens at Nairn Golf Club during a match, Smith did the gentlemanly thing - he took it to court. And lost. So let it be known - Lindsay Smith is a cheater.

Random Factoid II: The phrase "cockles of one's heart" refers to the ventricles of the heart. In case you were wondering.

August 1, 2007

William K. Wolfrum keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation. You can follow him on Twitter @Wolfrum.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.