Any change, good or bad, requires time to adjust. For newlywed Paula Creamer coming off what she calls “by far the worst” season of her career, it was time to reevaluate.
Creamer got off to a hot start in 2014, finishing T-3 in the first two events and followed that with her thrilling victory at the HSBC Women’s Champions where she drained a 75-footer for eagle for her first win since the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open.
But that’s where the season’s highlights ended.
After February, Creamer missed two cuts and had just one top-10 finish at the Evian Championship. A bright spot came in December when Creamer wed pilot Derek Heath, but juggling personal and professional life took a toll on the start of the 2015 season. In her first four starts, Creamer finished no better than T-46.
“Getting married is a huge part of anybody’s life,” Creamer told the media Tuesday. “I’m an Alpha female who thinks she can do everything. I couldn’t. I had to realize that.”
Creamer hit the reset button on her golf game, making changes to everything from her practice, to swing thoughts, to equipment.
“ It was just kind of a wake-up call after Asia,” Creamer said this week. “I was very discouraged after my Asia swing. I have changed a lot about how I practice, what I practice, what I’m doing, and kind of just reevaluated all my goals and my priorities with things.”
Creamer says she’s already seeing improvement and feels great working with her swing coach on simple swing thoughts to improve her ball striking, which she said was letting her down the most. Creamer currently ranks 52nd in GIR and 33rd in driving accuracy.
The California native is testing out her new game in front of friends and family this week, returning to the San Francisco area where she grew up learning to play.
“It’s always great when you’re able to come back home and play in front of your home crowd,” Creamer said. “I’m always announced Pleasanton, California on every tee at all the events, but here it’s just a little bit sweeter and gets people excited as well.”
Creamer struggled Thursday at Lake Merced Golf Club, carding an opening round 10-over, 82 which included two triple bogeys and four bogeys. It was her worst round as a professional. She tees off at 12:49pm local time Friday with Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.
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