Natalie Gulbis Biography

Early Life and Education

Natalie Anne Gulbis, known as Natalie Gulbis is an American professional golfer born on 7 January 1983 in  Sacramento, California area. She grew up with her two younger brothers George and Charlie.

She attended Granite Bay High School and graduated at the age of 16, later, she joined the University of Arizona as a golf scholar. She became 2000 national champions teaming up with her fellow freshman, Lorena Ochoa. She was interested in games from her early age. She participated in the first golf tournament at the age of seven.

Career

In 1997, at the age of 14, she played her first LPGA Tour as an amateur. Later in July 2001, at the age of 18, she left college for her professional career. On October 2001, at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at Daytona Beach, Florida, she tied for a third to earn a card for the 2002 season.

In 2005, on the LPGA money list in her fourth season, she finished sixth with over $1 million earnings. She listed in the top 10, in four successive major championships from the 2005 LPGA Championship to the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

In July 2007, at Evian Masters in France, she won for the first time, where she defeated Jeong Jang and won the prize of $450,000. She played 2005, 2007, and 2009 winning U.S Solheim Cup teams.

Gulbis considered being a sex symbol in the LPGA. In 2005, she published a calendar, which featured herself not only playing golf but also giving poses in a swimsuit. But it was barred from being sold by the United States Golf Association (USGA), claiming it unsuitable.  The USGA condemned for overreacting and later, the calendar was sold openly at Golf Canada.

She also did shoots for the November 2004 issue of the magazine FHM, which also gave away a chance to play golf at her home. 

In 2007, she began writing a monthly advice column in FHM. In November 2005, The Natalie Gulbis Show, a reality TV show debuted on The Golf Channel and its second season premiered on October 18, 2006. 

She also made appearances in the version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour by EA Sports on 2007, along with  Annika Sorenstam, Ian Poulter, and Luke Donald and also appeared in the  August/September cover of Sactown Magazine. Later, on the Evian Masters, which was her professional LPGA title.

In 2009, she appeared in the second season of Celebrity Apprentice and also on the episode of The Price Is Right as a Showcase theme. Later, she participated in the playing Hole in One to perform the game’s “inspiration Putt.” She also came on the Sports Jobs with Junior Seau.  In 2010, she made her appearance in the 10th season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the 12th episode ‘Long-Ball”.

In 2012, she appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue wearing only body paint. In February 2013, Gulbis missed her HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore while she was recovering from malaria.

Personal Life

The 34 years old, Natalie Gulbis is a married woman. She married Josh Rodarmel, who is a former Yale quarterback and former co-owner of the Power Balance bracelet. They engaged in July and later became husband-wife on December 23, 2013, in California. The couple has no children together.

Before her marriage with Josh Rodarmel, she was previously in relation with Ben Roethlisberger, who is NFL quarterback. But the relationship did not last long, and they separated.

Net Worth

Natalie has earned a decent amount from her golf career. Besides, she has endorsement deals with McGladrey LLP, Canon, Win Golf Grips, Lake Las Vegas Resort, TaylorMade/Adidas, Mastercard, Michelob Ultra, Pure Silk, SkyCaddie, Lexus and EA Sports.

She nearly received $5 million from LPGA Tour. As of 2017, her net worth is estimated to be around $4 million.