There was a time in her young life when Samantha Roberts wanted no part of tagging along with her father to play golf.

JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune Samantha Roberts is joined at the range by her father, Steve.

“I tried everything, even bribing her with ice cream,” her father, attorney Steve Roberts said.

Said Samantha: “He tried, but golf was sooooo boring.”

But that was Samantha Roberts, no bribes necessary these days, smoking drives on the Torrey Pines driving range early Saturday morning with her new TaylorMade Burner. She was hitting them 240 to 250 yards, with a Mike Wydra-taught little draw, a ball flight out of a scratch golfer's dream.

To Steve Roberts' surprise, the little girl who once couldn't be enticed with ice cream treats to play golf now can't get enough of the game. Samantha Roberts, 20, will be a sophomore next season on the San Diego State women's golf team, where this past spring she had the team's third-best scoring average of 79.79 and competed in the most tournaments, 10. She was the Lady Aztecs' top golfer at three of those tournaments. She also qualified as a Mountain West Conference scholar-athlete.

“The golf program at State is amazing,” she said. “I am so proud to be part of that program out there.”

JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune Samantha Roberts and her father Steve Roberts at the Torrey Pines driving range early on a Saturday morning.

She'll play golf against anyone – the cart boys at Encinitas Ranch, or anyone out at the Aztecs' home courses of Sycuan or Salt Creek in Chula Vista. At the latter she made eagle on the par-4 16th hole in a tournament in front of her parents and grandparents.

At Torrey Pines Golf Course, she's one of five women in the Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Club, where her father is outgoing president. She competes – and outscores many – by hitting from the men's tees in tournaments, with an adjusted women's handicap.

“I love every aspect of golf,” Samantha Roberts said. “A perfect day for me is practicing or playing golf all day long.”

A competitive gymnast when she was younger, the 5-foot-8 Roberts switched from tumbling on mats to hitting golf balls off of them when she was a freshman at Carlsbad High.

“I was looking for another sport and picked golf,” she said. “As soon as I made it my life, I fell in love with it. I was suspicious at first. I didn't know if I wanted to do it. But right now, I can't imagine my life without golf.”

As a junior she switched from Carlsbad High to La Costa Canyon High. When it came time to go to college, she sat out a year to hone her game. She attended the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for a month of Leadbetter's golf mantra, “practice, practice, practice.” She turned 19 at the camp and came home with an improved game.

She walked on at SDSU, where she already has earned a partial scholarship for her sophomore season.

Her personal golf coach, the legendary Wydra, who is in his 30th year as golf coach at UCSD, has marveled at Roberts' progress. Wydra is a firm believer in drawing the golf ball, moving it right to left for right-handers, a foreign move for most golfers and for Roberts when she met Wydra.

But Wydra worked with her, gave her a supination drill that he gives to all his male players, and Roberts began drawing the golf ball.

“She's a very hard worker and very smart,” Wydra said. “I've actually had to accelerate her pace of training to keep up with her.”

Wydra, who has taught two junior world champions, Christy Erb and Kimberly Silber, said Roberts has the right work ethic to succeed, but needs to win or qualify for a big tournament to reach golf's next level. She came close to advancing in recent qualifiers for the Women's U.S. Open and Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links.

“With Sammy, with her natural talent, her length and as bad as she wants it, the sky is the limit,” Wydra said.

For Steve Roberts, having his daughter embrace golf is a dream come true. Roberts, a former Pac-10 swimming champion, (200-meter butterfly) who trained with Olympic star Mark Spitz, fell in love with golf as a youngster growing up in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh.

“It's so great, really, having her play this game,” he said. “The golf course is the one place a daughter, a teenage daughter, and a parent can hang together and get along . . . for the most part.”

Roberts added “for the most part,” because, as all parent-son, parent-daughter golfers know, times on the golf course aren't always dead solid perfect.

There was one instance at last year's City Amateur when Samantha Roberts watched helplessly as her caddie, who happened to be her loving father, quit and drove off with her tees, golf balls, gloves – everything except her golf bag and clubs.

Steve Roberts' back was aching, so he took along a pull cart to tote his daughter's clubs. When Samantha saw the pull cart, she became upset.

“I told him I would be embarrassed if he pulled my clubs in a pull cart, and we had this huge fight,” Samantha said.

“I quit,” Steve Roberts said. “Can't abuse the caddie.”

“I was mean to him,” Samantha said. “I didn't think he'd leave, but he did.”

Roberts sent his wife, Ursula, to collect Samantha after she was done playing. Showing some true grit, Roberts finished tied for second the next day to Aztecs teammate Petra Cole.

“I didn't caddie again for her until last month,” Roberts said. “I'm back on the bag.”

Said Samantha: “As long as I'm nice. I now know I can't abuse my caddie.”

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Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com