Katie Ruhe

Personal:
Age: 24
Residence: Wesley Chapel, Fla.
Hometown: Montpelier, Ohio
Occupation: Golf Touring Professional
Marital Status/Children: Single/0
Hobbies: Shopping, exercising, baking
Katie Ruhe Pictures

On the Course:
Home Golf Course: TPC of Tampa Bay, Lutz, Fla.
Collegiate Golf Experience: University of South Florida
Strongest Part of Game: Iron play
Favorite Club: 9- and 7-irons

More About Katie Ruhe: Katie's father got her started in the game. A high school principal and former member of the Cleveland Indians' AAA franchise, he thought golf would be a great sport for his daughter. She loved the game instantly and remembers how good it felt to win a trophy in her first tournament ever – even though she shot a 72 for 9 holes.

Katie played on the boys team in high school, but competed against girls in many AJGA events. She was an AJGA All-American, as well as an AJGA Compaq Scholastic All-American selection in 1999, and began getting letters from college coaches in her freshman year. Eventually, she picked USF in Tampa, Fla., because her grandparents lived nearby and she felt the school fit her best.

A battle with anorexia plagued her first two years in college, and she spent her last two years trying to catch up. And catch up she did, earning Conference USA 2nd Team selections in her junior and senior years. She joined the Futures Tour in 2004 and improved her scoring average by four strokes in 2005.

Coming from small-town Ohio, Katie says she's about "as Midwestern and laid back as you can get," except when it comes to pursuing her dream of one day playing on the LPGA Tour. "I don’t really have a hero," Katie says, "but I'm inspired by people who get knocked down and get back up again. I've had my share of knock-downs and as long as I can get back up again, I'll continue chasing the dream."

Source: The Golf Channel; used with permission