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Anna Rawson has blurred the line between fashion and sports, sexuality and athleticism. Her Web site embraces both worlds.
The 28-year-old Australian competes on the LPGA Tour, but is probably better known as a GoDaddy spokesmodel than a professional athlete. With one exception, Rawson is the Danica Patrick of the links.
That exception is a victory in her sport. Rawson made six cuts in 2009, her second year on tour. Her best finish was a tie for 10th in 2008's Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Yet, Rawson, part of the Champions Challenge that tees off at Thanksgiving Point Golf Course today and Tuesday, believes her best golf years are soon to come.
"I feel I am two or three years away from my peak," she said. "I was a child phenom, then I went to college and messed around. I'm behind the 8-ball a little bit."
Rawson joins a field that includes host Johnny Miller, Mike Weir, Billy Casper, Rocco Mediate, Craig Stadler, Hale Irwin, Dean Wilson and Jason Zuback.
Competition begins 10:45 a.m. today with a foursome Pro-Am scramble. Tuesday's two-person scramble will follow a 9 a.m. long-drive demonstration by Zuback and Bob Wilson.
Rawson will compete with Dave Stockton Jr. during Tuesday's twosome scramble event. Rawson will substitute for Dave Stockton Sr., who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery. The Stocktons won the event last year.
"I'm very close to the Stockton family," she said. "They thought it would
Rawson was 13 when she first picked up a golf club. Golf was just one of several sports that interested the 5-foot-10 former USC Trojan.
Even at USC, Rawson wasn't as serious about the sport as she needed to be. It was only after college that the self-taught golfer hired a full-time coach.
At age 16, even as she competed in athletics, Rawson was a finalist in the Australian Dolly magazine cover contest. It began a modeling career that continues today.
Sports Illustrated named her one of the Most Beautiful Female Athletes of the Year, and was Maxim 's Sexiest New Athlete.
Rawson's endorsements with GoDaddy and clothing designers J Lindeberg, Chanel and Gucci far outdistance the $84,000 she made on the golf course in 2009.
Her agent Anthony Rodriguez told the WithLeather Web site that, "She'll get more eyeballs from her 'Go Daddy' exposure than she would if she played a whole season on the LPGA. There are 10 times more eyeballs on those spots than there are people watching The Golf Channel. I mean, for [LPGA champion] Lorena Ochoa to get on SportsCenter she'd not only have to win a tournament, she'd have to shoot a ball off a tree into the hole."
Rawson embraces both careers.
"The LPGA Tour loves it that I do the outside stuff, if I'm featured in fashion magazines," she said. "Everyone understands."
The attitude is a far cry from a couple of decades ago when LPGA professional Jan Stephenson took flak for her glamour photos.
"That was more the media," Rawson said. "They say, 'That's too sexy or racy.' People inside golf are supportive.
"It's fun."
Today, 10:45 a.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m., Thanksgiving Point Golf Club
