TAKE FIVE: NATALIE GULBIS

Wednesday, April 12, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

Before Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel, there was Natalie Gulbis.

At a time when it was not common for teenagers to make their presence felt on the LPGA Tour, Gulbis made quite an impact on the golf scene at the tender age of 14. Gulbis of Sacramento won the 1997 California Women's Amateur Championship and later that year - two years before she was eligible to get her driver's license - became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA tournament via a Monday qualifier.

Gulbis, now a resident of Lake Las Vegas, is starting her fifth full season on the LPGA Tour and will be among the 144 players in the field for the LPGA Takefuji Classic, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the Las Vegas Country Club. She comes into her hometown tournament ranked fifth on the LPGA Tour money list and loaded with confidence.

"It definitely makes it easier because now more of my friends and my family come out to support me," Gulbis said of playing in her hometown. "I love playing in front of friends and family, and the bigger the gallery, I think the more I feed off of it."

Natalie Gulbis File

LPGA touring professional

Age: 23

Born: Jan. 7, 1983, in Sacramento

College: University of Arizona

Turned pro: 2002

1. On the verge

Gulbis, who has made 114 starts on the LPGA Tour, has flirted with earning her first tour victory the past two seasons. She recorded seven top-five finishes last year and has opened this season with four top-five finishes in five outings, including a third-place tie the first weekend in April at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

2. Major factor

Her third-place showing at the first major of the LPGA season - which tied her career-best finish - came as no surprise to Gulbis' fans. Last season, she finished in the top 10 in three of the four majors and was 17th in the other.

3. She's got the look

Gulbis, who has produced her own glamour calendar since 2004, does not apologize for playing up her femininity - but said that is not what drives men to watch LPGA tournaments on television.

"We are definitely entertainers out here, but talent is No. 1," she said. "I think that males out there want to see competition, they want to see good golf ... They want to see, at the end, somebody making a run and somebody making that putt.

"If they are sports fans, they want to see sports; if they wanted to see something else, I don't think they would be tuning in to watch our events."

4. Earnings record

Gulbis earned more than $1 million in 2005 for the first time and established an LPGA mark for most money earned in a season without a victory. Gulbis' best earnings season prior to last year was 2004, when she made $277,093. Her earnings jumped to $1.01 million last year, and she has pocketed more than $249,000 in five tournaments this year.

5. On the Web

Gulbis has her own Web site (nataliegulbis.com) where fans can purchase, among other things, her 2006 swimsuit calendar.