Futures now for Leon

CONCORD, N.H. -- Tucked into shadows cast by trees that guard plush green fairways, Beaver Meadow Golf Course is a long way from Scotland, yet if she looks hard enough, Taylor Leon can see herself upon the wind-swept links of St. Andrews for the ongoing Women's British Open.

It's just that she doesn't allow herself to be consumed by such a vision. Not at this point in her life. She is traveling a route mapped out for her, and the fact that this quintessential New England town is one of the stops is just fine.

"I'm where I belong. At 20, I feel like I'm not out of place," said Leon, the latest in a healthy line of golf phenoms. "My decision to turn pro was not out of the blue. I grew up playing [for this moment]."

Raised in a golf-happy family in which success came early and often to the three children of Art and Kate Leon (older brother Tyler recently graduated from Oklahoma State and turned pro; Trent will be a senior at OSU in the fall), Taylor works hard to maintain that delicate balance that all golfers at this level must have. There is the mandatory confidence, because when she says, "I've always had high expectations and I always thought I could win out here," it is validated by the fact that it took until just her third pro tournament to record a victory.

Yet at the same time, Leon accepts that while two years at the University of Georgia helped hone her game, it didn't necessarily supply her with the experience she needs.

"I'm still getting used to the travel. I'm still getting used to being a pro," she said after a practice round at Beaver Meadow in preparation for this week's Duramed Futures Tour stop.

Having left the amateur ranks in late May, right after the NCAA Tournament, Leon will be teeing it up for the fourth time as a pro on the Futures Tour, billed as "The road to the LPGA Tour."

For many, it won't be.

For Leon, all indications are it will.

She knows the questions will come, so she is prepared.

"All the time," she said, when asked how often people tell her she looks strikingly like Paula Creamer, especially when she pulls her hair back and tucks it beneath a baseball cap.

There is a good laugh about this, because Leon counts Creamer among the friends she has met through golf, as both attended the Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Though Creamer is only seven months older than Leon, she is already in her third year on the LPGA Tour, already a three-time winner, already in possession of more than $3 million in career earnings. Throw in the fact that another great friend from the academy, Julieta Granada, won the season-ending ADT Championship in 2006, and Leon concedes that there are sometimes emotional pangs.

"For the last year or so, it's definitely been hard to watch LPGA Tour tournaments while I've been in college, knowing that my friends were doing what I wanted to be doing," said Leon.

Then, as if she has reminded herself about the route she is on and why she is prepared to play in the 54-hole USI Championship that gets underway tomorrow -- even as Creamer and Granada play in the Women's British Open in Scotland -- Leon smiles. The two years at Georgia? "I loved them. College was everything I dreamed it would be. There are no regrets."

But it ended somewhat controversially, she was told. Again, she sensed the question was coming and she didn't brush it off. It's a matter of record that coach Todd McCorkle resigned after stories surfaced about charges of verbal abuse and sexual harassment, and Leon has read published accounts that state her father helped initiate the internal investigation. That side of the story bothers her and while she insists people don't know the real story and how many people raised issues about McCorkle, she has put it all behind her.

"Honestly, I don't regret going to Georgia at all," she said. "And the decision to turn pro was made long before [the controversy arose]."

In fact, Leon said her family had suggested she turn pro a year earlier, after her freshman year, "but I wanted to stay in school one more year." That being done, there was no doubt she was ready to play for pay, and in her pro debut, Leon finished 12th in a Futures Tour stop in Decatur, Ill. The next week she missed the cut at the US Women's Open, then she shot 70-70-75 and prevailed in a playoff against Mollie Fankhauser to win the CIGNA Golf Classic in Bloomfield, Conn. The $11,200 prize is a big reason Leon sits 22d on the money list.

In one respect, it's a lofty position, given the fact she's played just three times.

In another respect, she concedes she's got a long way to go to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2008 (she'd have to be top five on the money list) or get an exemption through the first stage of Q School (top 15 on the money list). Remember, this is the Futures Tour where purses are in the neighborhood of $75,000, and you best finish top three or you stand still.

"I know I have to win at least once more," said Leon, who'll have six chances starting with the stop at Beaver Meadow.

It is a quiet, well-maintained course in a country setting that pleases Leon. No, it's not the LPGA Tour, which is where she envisions herself, but neither is she disappointed to be here.

As she did for nearly all of those junior years when she played nationally, she travels with her mother, though her father comes out as often as possible.

She said her father is close to retirement from the commercial real estate business and while he has taken a role in some marketing directions, Leon almost blushes when the subject is broached. Again, she knows it's coming, which is why she laughs as it's pointed out that she has two logos (Brooks Brothers, TransAmerica) on her shirt and one (Aegon) on her hat. It's rare that Futures Tour players have such endorsement backing.

"I was fortunate to be born with blond hair, blue eyes, and tall [5 feet 9 1/4 inches]," she said.

Her agent at SFX Golf handles her marketing opportunities and, yes, her father is involved, too. "But I'm very lucky, because my father keeps telling me, 'Just play your game. Don't worry about anything else,' " she said.

"I'm not living up to anyone's expectations, just mine. I love to compete. I understand that the [endorsement] money is nice and everything, but the golf game still has to be good. You still have to work hard."

Her presence in the shadows of the White Mountains indicates she's bought into that part of the process.