Now, fresh off a one-year apprenticeship on the Futures Tour -- where she won four times and set a single-season money record -- Bauer arrives on the 2002 LPGA Tour as the rookie most likely to draw attention. The 21-year-old Bauer comes with game, personality, and telegenic girl-next-door looks as the LPGA -- with its top three players hailing from overseas -- frantically looks for an American fan favorite.

From a distance, anyone can see that Bauer has it all. That view, however, is incomplete. Bauer's steady progress in the world of golf has come despite the loss of her father seven years ago.

"The day I got my [LPGA Tour] card was so emotional for me, because I knew that he should have been there," Bauer says. "He's a big part of that card."

John Bauer died at age 41, just three weeks after being diagnosed with Guillain-BarrE Syndrome, an inflammatory condition of the nerves. His death was as sudden as it was painful for the family. John and Beth Bauer were more than father and daughter. They called themselves "Team Bauer." And they were.

John was a career club professional, and the general manager of Summerfield Golf Club outside Tampa, Florida, at the time of this death. He introduced Beth to the game early, and she quickly embraced it. There are family pictures of a two-year-old Beth dragging a cut-down driver behind her while following John around the course. Beth still remembers curling up on the couch beside her father to watch old Bobby Jones movies, "although I'd fall asleep during those," she says.

Her golf game, however, was just starting to wake up. At 13, she won her first American Junior Golf Association title, competing in the 14-18 age group.

That's when daughter and father first began to talk about chasing a dream. "Our goal was for me to be on the LPGA Tour someday," she says.

John's illness struck in August of 1994. His condition worsened while 14-year-old Beth was out of town, playing in the PGA Junior Championship. He wouldn't let wife Chris call their daughter home. John promised he would hold on.

Beth won the tournament, then rushed to her father's hospital bed. John Bauer welcomed her by raising a weakened hand and holding up a single finger: "You're number one." A few days later, he was dead.

"I know a lot of people thought I'd get distracted after that," Beth says. "I can still remember coming out to Summerfield right after it happened and almost seeing him standing on the range waiting for me after school. I think it motivated me even more, thinking that he was watching."

Bauer went on to win 17 AJGA events and two Player of the Year awards. She won three tournaments while at Duke before leaving early to turn pro.

Then, surprisingly, Bauer failed to earn her card at the 2000 LPGA Q-School. But her play on the Futures Tour, where she led the money list by a wide margin, reestablished her as a potential LPGA star.

Bauer is competitive enough to say she."won't be happy just being out there," and that she hopes to eventually become a top-10 player. But she's realistic enough to know the areas she needs to improve. "I need to work on physical conditioning -- getting stronger -- and my short game," she says.

When she talks about her father, Bauer still sometimes becomes emotional. Her voice will crack, she will blink back tears, and apologize. "Sometimes it helps to talk about it," she says, "other times it doesn't."

She has developed a special relationship with her mother. "It has been a long road for me and my mom, but it has been a great time," Bauer says. "We've really pulled together. I think we have the closest relationship ever for a mom and daughter. But it's a dream all three of us have always wanted. We've worked hard.

"My dad taught me everything about golf, from my set-up to loving the game and competition. Everything I do, I feel he's looking over me -- and he's really happy."