Klein Is Moving Toward Stardom

Emilee Klein was born in Santa Monica, raised in Northridge and Studio City, schooled in Sherman Oaks, went to college in Tempe and lives, well, just where does she live?

“Nowhere right now,” Klein said.

The 22-year-old from who-knows-where is moving to Orlando, Fla., and living quite well these days, mainly because she has won successive tournaments and jumped into the top 10 on the LPGA money list in only her second season on tour.

Klein won the British Open last week and a tournament at Boston the week before, which may force her to make a slight adjustment to her goals from the beginning of the year.

She wanted to finish in the top 20 on the money list, wanted to win a tournament and wanted to make the Solheim Cup team.

So far, she’s looking good in two of the three. Judy Rankin will announce her captain’s picks for the U.S. team in the Solheim Cup today, but Klein doesn’t think she’s going to be chosen.

“I think I’m a longshot,” Klein said. “Next time, I would like to play my way on so there’s no question about it.”

There really hasn’t been much of a question about Klein, and for a very long time.

The 1988 California Women’s Amateur champion at 14, Klein was a junior All-American for four years, the 1991 junior player of the year and the 1991 U.S. Junior Girls champion.

At Arizona State, she was a two-time All American, the NCAA champion in 1994, the 1994 college player of the year and a Curtis Cup team member.

Other than that, Klein was an unknown.

Last year as an LPGA rookie, Klein came close to winning her first tournament, but lost to Mary Beth Zimmerman on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff in the State Farm Rail Classic.

She won $179,803 last year, but what Klein learned about herself was worth much more.

“I raised my confidence level,” Klein said. “Extra confidence, that’s what I needed, because out here, if you have bad results, low confidence can come on pretty quick.”

Klein, who began playing at 9, is the daughter of Randee and Bobby Klein, a State Farm insurance agent in the San Fernando Valley.

Klein said she is playing on the tired side, the result of a back-breaking schedule of 12 weeks in a row that would be 17 consecutive if you count the week off when she spent the whole time taking lessons.

Her coach is Hank Haney, who runs a golf school in McKinney, Texas, and he is one of two people Klein trusts with her game. The other is Kenny Harms, her caddy and boyfriend.

Klein plays a consistent game--she is No. 5 in the LPGA in fairways hit--and she is content with how it has worked out.

“I don’t miss greens, I’ve got a good short game, and I’m a good putter, but there’s a big difference between a good putter and a great putter,” she said.

“Good putters play well. Great putters win tournaments.”

The short list of great putters includes Kelly Robbins and Laura Davies, said Klein.

So from where she stands, Klein said she can see a new goal right now.

“To be one of the best players in the world,” she said. “I have a long way to go, but the thing I love about golf is that you don’t really peak until you are 30 or 32 years old.

“It’s fun to watch the improvement and know it’s going to keep getting better.”

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Charles Howell, the 17-year-old Georgian who will be a high school senior in Augusta, was the youngest player in the U.S. Amateur match-play format for the second year in a row.

Howell lost to Tiger Woods in the third round at Pumpkin Ridge, but he showed a consistent game.

In Howell’s USGA questionnaire, under superstitions, he listed one: “Don’t walk under moving cars.”

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Golf Notes

Bill Barisoff and David Thau won the handicap flight with a three-under-par overall gross score and Rick Ehrke and Duane Hastins took the sponsors flight at two under in the recent 14th annual Bob Weinberg CHP 11-99 Foundation tournament at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park. . . . The fifth Bobby Hatfield charity tournament will be held Sept. 9 at Los Coyotes. The event benefits the Southern California Lupus Foundation. Details: (714) 833-2121. . . . A Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation public meeting to discuss the county golf system will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 4 at El Cariso in Sylmar. . . . The 24th Billy Barty Foundation Celebrity event will be held Sept. 20-22 at Palm Springs Country Club and Riviera Resort in Palm Springs. The event benefits Barty’s foundation. . . . The $800,000 Ralphs Senior Classic will be played again at Wilshire Country Club, Oct. 4-6. John Bland won last year by one shot over Jim Colbert.