01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

College is getting more expensive every year.

But thank goodness it's not the $1.5 million it would have cost Paula Creamer. And that's with the free tuition and room and board she would have received as part of her golf scholarship.

Creamer could have played for any college in the country, but instead chose to go out on the LPGA Tour, which proved to be a lucrative decision.

"I always thought I'd go to college," she said. "But, given the opportunity, I wanted to be the best professional player, not the best college player."

Creamer won her first LPGA event four days before graduating from high school last May. She added a second victory later in the year and wound up second on the Tour money list with $1,531,780.

She was, of course, named Rookie of the Year after setting a Tour record for earnings by a first-year player. She also became the first Tour rookie named to the Solheim Cup team. Although barely 19, Creamer not only held up under the pressure of international competition, she was one of the team leaders, posting a 3-1-1 record that included a 7-and-5 rout of British star Laura Davies in singles -- a match in which Creamer rattled off a dazzling seven consecutive birdies.

She always looks dazzling on the golf course, in part because she enjoys wearing pink. Pink hats. Pink shirts. Pink shorts. Pink pants. Pink skirts.

She is known as the Pink Panther, and has a plush head cover of that cartoon character on her driver. She sometimes plays with a pink ball -- the Precept Tour SIII.

"I wear other colors, but I always have something pink on," she said. "It's help me remember to go out there and have fun."

Golf is a lot of fun when you can play like Creamer, who in 13 starts this year heading into the U.S. Women's Open has finished among the top 10 six times, earning $367,285.

She tied for 19th last year at the Open, after tying for 13th as an amateur at the Orchards, in South Hadley, Mass., in 2004.

"I want to help more girls get involved in golf," said Creamer, who is a supporter of the USGA "First Tee" program, for young players. "Perhaps seeing what I have done will be an encouragement to them.

"I love the game. It teaches you about life. It teaches you honesty, and integrity, and to have a strong work ethic. And it's a game you can play forever."

-- JIM DONALDSON