Bauer Has a Rewarding First Season

In many ways, it’s no surprise that Beth Bauer was this year’s rookie of the year on the LPGA Tour. She was the American Junior Golf Assn. player of the year in 1998, the NCAA freshman of the year while at Duke in ’99 and an NCAA All-American in 2000.

It’s just that success as a professional took a little longer than she had anticipated.

After she left Duke after her sophomore season in anticipation of joining the tour, she was greeted by a harsh dose of reality. She failed to make it through LPGA Tour qualifying school in 2000, shooting 70-74-76-76, and was relegated to a year on the Futures Tour--the minor league of women’s professional golf.

“I was devastated,” Bauer said Tuesday at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, where she will be paired with Grace Park in the Hyundai Team Matches, Nov. 16-17. “I was like, ‘This is not where I want to play.’ ”

Turns out it might have been a blessing. Bauer learned her game was not ready for the upper echelon of golf. So she worked out some kinks--most specifically in her putting--and reestablished her potential by winning four times on the 2001 Futures Tour and setting a season earnings record of $84,529.

That earned her an exemption for the 2002 LPGA Tour, and she made the most of the opportunity. She has earned $429,353, 17th-best on the tour, having made 20 of 23 cuts with six top-10 finishes--including five in her last six tournaments.

A native of Tampa, Fla., Bauer is only the fourth U.S.-born rookie of the year since 1988 on a tour starving for an American star to compete with Swede Annika Sorenstam, South Korean Se Ri Pak and Australian Karrie Webb.

“After a while I realized that maybe it was good to be on the Futures Tour,” Bauer said. “Maybe if I went to the LPGA Tour right away, I would have fallen on my face and lost all my confidence.”

Bauer had dealt with adversity before.

When she was 14, her father, John, died suddenly of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare nerve disorder. John, a club professional, taught Beth golf.

He also taught her patience, which came in handy during her stay on the Futures Tour and now, as she awaits her first LPGA Tour victory.

“I’ve played 23 events this year without a win, so I’m just trying to find out what I need to do better,” Bauer said. “I’ve had a few chances this year, but this game is all about timing. It just wasn’t my time yet.”