Date: December 24, 2006
Author: Sportal

Gulbis her own harshest critic

Sportal Ladies tour starlet Natalie Gulbis says she feels under no extra pressure to deliver her maiden tour victory. Gulbis has her own calendar, reality television and a &aposcover girls&apos photo section on her website, but without a tour victory, is starting to draw comparisons to Anna Kournikova, who failed to win a singles tournament throughout her high-profile career. Gulbis came closest to a victory at the Corning Classsic earlier this year when she lost a playoff to Korean Mi Hyun Kim, while she also finished third at the Kraft Nabisco Championships. But the 23-year-old said any criticism thrown at her for not yet winning a title would be no harsher than the expectations she places on herself. “Absolutely there&aposs pressure, but no more pressure than I put on myself to get it,” Gulbis told the Australian. With no less than 20 top-10 finishes in the past two years, Gulbis goes into next month&aposs MFS Women&aposs Australian Open ranked 19th in the world, and after a year that saw her finish 16th on the LPGA money list. Gulbis hopes some adjustments to her swing will help her breakthrough for an elusive win. “The strength for me is usually iron play and then power putting,” Gulbis said. “It&aposs nice to see things are working out so far. I had a solid year this year, but I thought my 2005 was better.” “I&aposm just trying to get better all the time. I&aposve been working hard in the off-season and I&aposll work hard again in the new year.” Gulbis last visited Australia for the 2003 ANZ Ladies Masters, where she finished equal 20th, and said she is looking forward to another trip Down Under. “I love going to Australia … nice warm weather and it&aposs going to be a great tune-up for me for the PGA season,” Gulbis said.