Australian golfer Karrie Webb has taken the Ladies' Professional Golf Association (LPGA) by storm. In 1996 she won rookie of the year honors while becoming the first woman ever to win over $1 million during one season. Webb followed up her rookie success by capturing the 1997 Vare Trophy, given to the player with the lowest per-round scoring average during the year. She and Annika Sorenstam from Sweden give the LPGA a one-two punch, and their rivalry should carry the woman's game into the next century.

Growing up

Wonder from down under

Karrie (Kahr-ee) Webb was born December 21, 1974, in Ayr, Queensland, Australia. She is the oldest of three daughters of Robert and Evelyn Webb. Webb's father worked in construction and her mother operated a cafe. Ayr is a town best known for growing sugarcane and is 10 miles inland from the Great Barrier Reef.

Webb loved sports as a child and participated...