Editor's Note: Amateurgolf.com staff
member Lynne Cowan is playing in the U.S.
Women's Mid-Amateur Championship. In
between rounds and matches, she'll be filing
reports from Bayville Golf Club in Virginia
Beach, Virg.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Sept 16, 2011) – As the
Women's Mid-Amateur celebrates it's silver
anniversary, amateurgolf.com had a chance to
meet with defending champion Meghan Stasi.
In 2010, Stasi won her third U.S. Women's
Mid-Am at Wichita Country Club in Wichita,
Kan., tying the record of most championships
with Ellen Port and Sarah LeBrun Ingram. She
won her first in 2006 at Old Waverly Golf Club
in Mississippi and defended the following year
at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree, Arizona.
After a series of missed cuts at the U.S.
Amateur, Stasi broke through winning the first
Mid-Am she played in. Stasi graduated from
Tulane University and then became the
youngest Division 1 college golf coach at the
University of Mississippi at the age of 23,
coaching the Bulldogs from 2000 to 2007.
When Stasi isn't busy competing in golf
tournaments and traveling she helps out as a
floor manager at her husband's restaurant,
Shuck 'n Dive.
Given Stasi's success at the Mid-Am, it seems
as though winning only becomes easier once a
player has already achieved the feeling. But
Stasi isn't taking anything for granted.
“They are all different, different courses,
different areas," she said. "I go into them the
same, with the same training and mental
preparation.”
Her caddy, who just so happens to be her
father, Mike, helps her keep things free and
easy throughout competition. They don't
overthink things and Stasi said it's very
comfortable with him on the bag.
During Stasi's defending champion speech at
the player's dinner this year, she mentioned
that the USGA wanted a piece of memorabilia
from her to put in the Golf House Museum. She
brought out a bag and unveiled a box with a
brand new pair of walking shoes for her dad
because she needed to retire his shoes to the
museum, as he had been with her every step of
the way. He came to the podium and received
his new new shoes, a touching father-daughter
moment.
Besides mental preparation, she doesn't do
anything unusual to prepare for big
tournaments. She enjoys walking and pilates.
She has always been athletic and comes from a
family of athletes.
After Stasi's great play in 2006 and 2007, she
earned a spot on the victorious 2008 Curtis Cup
Team --- not bad for a 30-year old to make a
team made up mostly of teenagers. Stasi's
chance of making the team again in 2012 are
pretty high. She's currently ranked in the top
three in the amateurgolf.com U.S. Rankings.
Curtis Cup captain Pat Cornett is also playing in
the Women' Mid-Am this week she will get a
first hand look as Stasi's potential as a viable
player for the team.
ABOUT THE U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur
The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur originated in
1987 to provide a national competitive arena
for amateurs 25 and older. Besides the age
restriction, the event is open to those with a
USGA Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower. It is
one of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs.
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