May 21, 2008–What will Natalie Gulbis (pictured) do now that her BFF (best friend forever for you non-texters out there) Annika Sorenstam has announced her retirement? Natalie, who makes her home on a fairway of the Reflection Bay Golf Club in Lake Las Vegas Resort, says she is both sad and excited for Annika Sorenstam, but will no doubt miss seeing her on the fairways. "Annika is my closest friend on tour, so I'm obviously very excited and sad for her decision," said Gulbis before the Sybase Classic last week in Clifton, N.J., where she played with Annika during the first two rounds. "Sad because she's arguably the best player to play our sport, so even the thought of her not being out here is tough."
Gulbis has lived at Lake Las Vegas Resort, the home of three Las Vegas golf courses, for several years and is a student of Butch Harmon at his school of golf located at Las Vegas' Rio Secco Golf Club. Click now to visit the official Natalie Gulbis website.
"I got to play with Rosie Jones when she was finishing off her last year," Gulbis, who is struggling to find her A game this year, also said. "There's a lot of special moments saying goodbye to all the events. After this event is the one Annika hosts [the Ginn Tribute, in two weeks] and the majors, and I think it's going to be very emotional for her. But knowing Annika, if she could have it storybook, she'd end being No. 1 in the world. She'd love to go out that way because that's the type of person she is. Whether she's in golf or business or family, she always demands and is shooting for excellence."
Reflection Bay Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus signature design that features five holes played along the shoreline of Lake Las Vegas. It is a Las Vegas resort golf course that you can play. Lake Las Vegas Resort is also the home of The Falls, a resort Tom Weiskopf design, and SouthShore Golf Club, a private Nicklaus golf course.
Gulbis had zero top 10 finishes through her first 10 starts in 2008, but had earned $101,000, good for 49th on the money list. Her career total is now more than $3.4 million. She is scheduled to play in the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika, May 29-June 1. Sorenstam is the official host of the tournament.
Photo: NatalieGulbis.com
Quote: From Hartford Courant, May 15, 2008