WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – One more day. That’s Paula Creamer’s mantra as she heads into the big finish here at the ADT Championship.
Moments after Creamer picked her spot at the Saturday Night Draw, she was mobbed by a sea of small children waiting for autographs. She signed graciously on the way to her car. Destination: Bethesda Memorial Hospital. There she will undergo tests to rule out appendicitis and stay overnight.
If Creamer withdraws Sunday morning, the field will consist of seven players. She will earn eighth-place prize money – $16,250.
Dr. Bruce Thomas, an orthopedic specialist who worked with U.S. Olympic teams in Beijing, examined Creamer before the third round and conferred with several doctors in the area. Creamer had one symptom in particular that was not consistent with appendicitis – the abdominal pain ceased when she doubled over.
“If I was going to withdraw, it would’ve been earlier in the week,” said Creamer, one of eight players to make it the final round. “So, no, given the money title or not, I’m just out here.”
If Creamer wins the $1 million prize Sunday, she’ll edge Lorena Ochoa by $41,457. Perhaps more importantly, she’ll become the first U.S.-born money champion since Betsy King in 1993. Creamer would end the year with $2,804,117. Fifteen years ago, King won $595,992.
Creamer, 22, fell ill on Wednesday and felt worse as the week progressed. She’s a fighter, so it’s not surprising to see her grinding away to a 2-under 70 on nothing but toast and a bagel. She won earlier this season in Hawaii while sick with the flu. She’s tough, despite the pink.
“The best position for me is hunched over,” Creamer said. “So every time I follow through (my abdominal muscles) stretch, and that’s what kills me.”
Creamer loves everything about this event. She loves the payout, the course, The Donald’s swanky digs, and she especially loves the sponsor.
Last week in Mexico, Creamer got tired of trying to piece together what went wrong between ADT and the LPGA. In October, the LPGA announced that ADT was not renewing its sponsorship of the tour’s marquee event. Sources say the two parties could not agree on terms of the contract (i.e. money). Creamer called ADT President John Koch to see what could be done.
“I said ‘please come back,’ ” said Creamer, who was sponsored by ADT her first two years on tour. “I hope that our tour is willing to talk to them because I know they are willing to do it and come back.”
The two parties met earlier in the week but no new developments have been reported. The LPGA decided to move this event to the beginning of the schedule in 2010. Next year’s season will conclude with the Stanford International Tour Championship in Houston, a stroke-play event. Stanford sponsored a pro-am event this spring at South Florida’s Turnberry Isle. With that event also gone in 2009, it will mark the first year since 1996 that South Florida hasn’t hosted an LPGA tournament.
Should Orlando’s Ginn Open drop from the schedule after 2009, a very real possibility, it could mean that the Sunshine State gets shut out in 2010.
“Florida and California are both states that are near and dear to my heart,” said LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens. “I have ties to both. Both of those are areas that don’t have an extensive corporate headquarters base. And as you know, putting together a schedule takes a lot of elements coming together ...”
The fact that Creamer placed a call last week shows that she’s more than a pretty face with ribbons and curls who can get the ball in the hole. She’s growing up. Turning into a leader on a tour that desperately needs American leadership.
Because for Creamer, it’s about a whole lot more than one more day – or $1 million for that matter. This eight-time tour winner is just getting started.
Posted: 11/22/2008
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