First Win for "Breck Girl" Taylor Leon

by Mulligan Stu on Jul 15, 2007 9:49 PM EDT Comment 0 comments

If the name Taylor Leon sounds familiar to you, but you just can't place it, it may be because Leon played a central role in the soap opera earlier this year at the University of Georgia. It was complaints by Leon's father that led the school to investigate the women's golf coach and conclude he was in violation of the school's anti-harassment policies. The coach resigned, and Leon, a sophomore, wound up turning pro.

taylor leon And Sunday, Leon earned her first professional victory, defeating Mollie Fankhauser in a playoff to win the Futures Tour Cigna Golf Classic.

If you listen to sports marketing gurus - and Leon's father - Taylor has the makings of the next Natalie Gulbis. But with victories. The blonde bomber of women's golf and, it wouldn't be surprising, of wall calendars.

A couple weeks before she turned pro, the Atlanta Journal Constitution profiled Leon (no longer online), and that profile began this way:

She has Breck Girl hair, a Revlon face and a Colgate smile. She also has a killer golf game, and all of that has sports marketing types clamoring to represent her.

Her father pitched her looks and marketability:

"She's being pursued by a number of sports agency firms," said her father, Art Leon, who has been approached by IMG, Octagon and SFX Golf, among others. "She's attractive with a beautiful smile and an outgoing personality, and she can play the game of golf. They all want Taylor Leon to be a brand name, like Mizuno or Titleist. You'll see her face and recognize who she is."

And an agent chimed in:

"Taylor Leon brings a lot to the table," says Sam McNaughton, a sports agent for SFX Golf who calls himself a friend of the Leon family. "She's young, has blond hair, blue eyes, she's from Texas and her golf game is tremendous. Her greatest strength may be that she can still improve."

Blonde hair and blue eyes seems to count for a lot. I supposed that's not surprising for a "Breck Girl."

But Leon can clearly play, and would probably be a great golfer even if she was - perish the thought! - raven-haired and brown-eyed. Or - gasp! - overweight with bad skin.

She made up three shots over the final three holes on Sunday to catch Fankhauser, then parred the first playoff hole to win. Neither player tore it up in the final round, however; Fankhauser shot 78 and Leon 75.

Still, in just her third professional start and second Futures Tour start as a pro, "Breck Girl" Taylor Leon is a winner.

Flash that Colgate smile, Taylor, and wait for the sound of the cash register. The rest of us will be waiting for your pending stardom to reach full bloom.