At a petite 5 feet 1 inch – 5-2 tops – Taya Battistella concedes that size is not her greatest asset.

”Yeah,” she said, ”it’s a bit of a disadvantage.”

It certainly would be if Battistella were pursuing a career in, say, basketball. But her game isn’t hoops. It’s golf. And it’s a game at which, despite being nearly half a club-length shorter than some of the sport’s other rising stars (think Michelle Wie), Battistella shines.

Folks here remember Battistella as a dominating prep player during her three years at Bend High School: Three-time district medalist. Two-time state co-medalist. Outright state champion as a senior in 1998.

Back in Bend for a holiday visit with her parents, Tony and Susan Battistella, Taya, who now lives near Palm Springs, Calif., shared some of her golf memories with me. The 25-year-old also talked about her dream – of one day playing on the LPGA Tour.

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Taya Battistella was an accomplished golfer well before she moved with her family to Bend from Richland, Wash., following her freshman year in high school. She was playing competitively by age 10 and went on to become one of the Northwest’s top junior golfers.

Continued success through her high school years in Bend attracted considerable attention from college coaches and landed her a golf scholarship at the University of Colorado. She ”did OK” at CU, where as a sophomore she was her team’s top finisher at the 2000 Big 12 Championships.

But ”OK” wasn’t good enough. And for ”a bunch of reasons,” including a failure to ”see eye to eye” with her coach, Battistella walked away from her Colorado scholarship to search for another. She found it, closer to home, at Portland State.

”It was a good move,” she reflected. ”I knew I could go there and probably play No. 1.”

Things went well at PSU. In her first season there (2000-01), Battistella was Big Sky Conference medalist. She redshirted the following season to deal with back trouble but returned for a strong senior year, which she capped with a second medalist performance at the 2003 Big Sky Championships.

”The redshirt year really made me realize how important golf has been in my life,” she said, ”and how much I love it.”

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While working last spring to complete her degree at PSU, Battistella decided the time was right to turn pro as a golfer.

Playing primarily on the West Coast Ladies Golf Tour – a second-year pro tour – she took part in 24 tournaments in 2004. She also entered the LPGA Qualifying School sectional tournament in September, hoping to make the BIG career jump. But she withdrew because of a wrist injury.

”I wasn’t quite ready,” Battistella recalled.

A month later and half a world away, she proved plenty ready. And she concluded her first pro season with a victory in the Orient Masters U.S. Beijing Open, topping an international field of 59 players at the Orient Golf Club in Beijing, China.

”That was huge,” she said. And not just because of the $5,000 prize money that hiked her winnings for the season to just under $10,000 – fifth on the WCLGT’s 2004 money list.

”It made me realize that I can play out there, and win,” she said. ”It’s a great confidence booster going into next season. If I can prove myself this year, I think I have a good shot at the LPGA.”

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With help from her boyfriend, aspiring men’s pro tour player Brian Hughes, Battistella has worked up a plan she hopes will allow her to continue chasing her dream. She’s looking for investors to sponsor her into 2007. (To purchase shares of Taya Battistella, LLC, e-mail to tayagolfs@yahoo.com.)

So far, her sponsor list is ”mostly family, and friends at the clubs here (she plays out of Widgi Creek and Broken Top in Bend),” she said. ”If I can get enough investors together, to help me with costs like training and travel, I can just focus on my golf game.”

She believes that now, with a professional victory on her golf resume, she’s a good bet for her investors. She’s confident that her goal – the LPGA – is within reach.

”I think there’s a few things I still need to work on,” she allowed. ”But I feel like my game’s still improving.

”The West Coast Tour is a good steppingstone. If I can play well on this tour again this year, I think I’ll be ready for the next step.”