Now that the furor has died down over Anna Grzebien appearing nude in the “Body Issue” of ESPN the Magazine…

Wait a second…

Furor?

There was no furor.

Not afterward, anyway. Not after her photo, like those of the many other athletes pictured, proved to be no more – and, for the most part, even less – revealing than the shots of the models in rival mag Sports Illustrated’s renowned, annual Swimsuit Issue.

Before publication, however, there was much ado about Anna and two other LPGA players – Sandra Gal and Christina Kim – wearing nothing.

Not since the very talented –– and very attractive –– Jan Stephenson was pictured naked (presumably) in a bathtub full of golf balls has there been such excitement over an LPGA player posing for a magazine, although the USGA did bar shapely Natalie Gulbis’ calendar from sale at the 2007 Women’s Open Championship because it felt the pictures were too risque.

ESPN the Magazine addressed the pre-publishing furor in, well, the Magazine.

“Weeks before this magazine hit mailboxes,” the article began, “the media wrote about the photographs contained in its pages. Since reporters hadn’t seen so much as a stray Polaroid, the stories ranged from the speculative Will she? Won’t she? We think she did! to the judgmental How could she?

“When Ron Sirak, executive editor at Golf World, heard that three members of the LPGA Tour had posed for the Body Issue, sans appropriate golf attire, he wrote a piece asking whether this was the kind of attention the Tour wanted.”

That was the question posed to Grzebien about her hardly-provocative pose in the all-together on a golf cart.

“It was good exposure,” she said – no pun intended. “The Tour needs all it can get.”

She’s right about that.

These difficult economic times have hit the LPGA Tour hard. There were seven fewer tournaments this year than in 2008 – only 27, down from 34 –– and total purse money plunged more than 20 percent, from just over $60 million last year to less than $48 million.

Those figures are expected to be even lower in 2010.

“That’s why having full status is so crucial,” Grzebien said. “If you’re not fully exempt, you’re not going to get into many tournaments. We already have to take weeks off when we don’t want to.”

Since she was a little girl, growing up in Saunderstown and learning the game at nearby Point Judith Country Club, Grzebien has wanted to play on the LPGA Tour.

After starring, along with her older sisters, Lauren and Mary Ellen, at Narragansett High, Anna went on to play at Duke University, where she won the NCAA individual championship as a sophomore in 2005, and played a key role in helping the Blue Devils win three consecutive NCAA team titles –– in 2005, ’06 and ’07 –– while earning a degree in psychology.

Now in her second year on the LPGA Tour, after having finished third at the 2008 Qualifying School, Grzebien ranks a solid 63rd on the money list heading into this weekend’s Tour Championship in Houston, with earnings of $166,905.

Three times this year she has finished in the top 20, including a tie for 17th at the U.S. Women’s Open that she says was the highlight of her season because her parents, Tom and Marnee, were there, as well as her sister, Lauren, and Lauren’s fiance.

“Having them there meant so much to me,” Grzebien said. “I wouldn’t be out here without everything they’ve done for me. Coming down 18, and seeing them around the green, was one of best feelings I’ve ever had on a golf course. I felt like all my hard work had paid off.”

Grzebien has spent the past two weeks working on her short game in Florida after returning from an eventful tournament in South Korea, where she was tied for the lead after an opening-round 66 but, playing in horrendous conditions the second day, saw her score balloon to an 82.

“Those definitely were the worst conditions I’ve ever played in – and I’ve played in some really bad weather,” she said. “That second round took 7 1/2 hours. It was pouring and the wind was blowing hard. They pulled us off the course once because the greens were unplayable. But they got the rollers and squeegees out and sent us back out. Even the greens still really weren’t playable. I was not pleased.”

Grzebien never is entirely satisfied with her golf game, but she is pleased with the way things are going for her on the LPGA Tour.

“I’m starting to feel like I belong out here,” she said. “I’m hungry to improve. I’m looking forward to practicing and training over the winter.”

Her training is evident to anyone who saw her photo in the “Body Issue.” There’s not an ounce of fat on her.

Which is not the case for the zaftig Ms. Kim, who’s also the most ebullient player on the LPGA Tour.

“Christina was running the show,” Anna laughed, recalling the photo shoot. “We did a number of different shots and set-ups. She liked some better than others and she most definitely made that known.”

Anyone who knows the fiercely competitive Grzebien is well aware that she wants to be known as a golfer, not a sex symbol.

But it’s a fact of life in the world of sports and entertainment that sex sells. If you not only play well, but look good, too, then why not capitalize on it?

It’s why Grzebien accepted an offer to become one of the “Wilhelmina 7” – a group of good-looking LPGA players signed by the famous modeling agency.

A photograph of Anna in a bikini taken for Wilhelmina has achieved a certain popularity on the Internet.

“I was walking to the first tee one day at the U.S. Open,” she said. “I was all serious. I had my ‘game face’ on. Then a man along the ropes held out some 8-by-11 copies of the picture of me in the bikini and asked: ‘Would you sign these?’ I couldn’t do anything but laugh.

“Now,” she added, “I’m waiting for the rush of ESPN pictures to come out.”

Her popularity – and visibility – could soar if she can continue to improve her game and move into the upper echelons of the LPGA Tour.

“I’m just starting out,” she said. “I’m going to play my game, and let my golf speak for itself. I’m not a standout yet, but I feel I’m getting better every year.”

jdonalds@projo.com /401-277-7340