Suzann Pettersen, the No. 6 ranked women’s player in the world, is a natural golfer. This week, however, she is au naturel for ESPN’s annual ‘Body Issue.’
Pettersen, wearing not even a glove on her left hand, stripped down for a somewhat tasteful layouf for the magazine. She is among 26 other athletes showing off their bare atheltic forms in the fourth-annual issue. It comes out Friday. Others to take part are USA soccer player Abby Wambach, Toronto’s Juan Bautista and PGA golfer Camilo Villegas.
She is part of the LPGA tradition that has seen follow players Belen Mozo, Christina Kim, Sandra Gal and Anna Grzebien also take part in previous editions. PGA Tour player Camilo Villegas has also posed in this year’s issue.
“A lot of the best athletes in the world have done it, and I thought it was great to be asked. I thought about it, being naked and all, but I never really considered not doing it,” Pettersen told USA Today. “I just had to make sure that I was comfortable in doing it. It’s as natural as it gets. It’s health at its peak.”
Pettersen admitted feeling awkward being nude for almost the entirety of a five-hour photo shoot.
“The photographer asked me if I felt comfortable being naked in front of a camera, and I went, ‘Well, here I am,'” she told the paper. “You kind of get used to it.
“This was a great opportunity for me,” she said. “If they present the photos in the right way, which I’m sure they will do, there’s not going to be anything to be embarrassed about or to criticize.”The women’s have two weeks off so Pettersen can lay low for a while but Villegas is playing this week in the John Deere Classic and will be part of the featured group.