Lang Counts On Familiar Face To Retain Trophy

By Beth Murrison, USGA

St. Simons Island, Ga. – When Diane Lang showed up at the 2005 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at The Apawamis Club in Rye, N.Y., she had a little trouble getting a caddie.

Lang was playing in her first Senior Women’s championship, and as somewhat of an unknown in the field, no one was overly eager to carry her bag. One of the last available caddies was a Westchester Country Club

Diane Lang and her caddie, Barry Smith, together during the 2006 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship. (Robert Walker/USGA)

caddie named Barry Smith.

One week later, Lang was hoisting the trophy after winning her first national championship.

Before she left Apawamis, Smith mentioned that he was from Brunswick, Ga., which neighbors the site of the 2006 championship, Sea Island Golf Club. He offered to travel to Sea Island to serve as her caddie again.

But when this year’s championship rolled around, Lang couldn’t get in touch with Smith and figured she’d have to find a new caddie. When she traveled to Sea Island for a media day in September, she hit it off with her caddie for the day, who offered to carry her bag during the championship.

That turned out to be unnecessary.

Upon arriving at Sea Island last week, she was told her media-day caddie was unavailable, but that they had arranged for someone named Barry to step in.

“I did not put two and two together,” said Lang. “Sure enough, when I got ready to tee off, I looked up and there was Barry, all smiles.”

Smith had indeed received Lang’s message about caddieing for her at Sea Island. He called the club and offered his services, and then drove down to southern Georgia to surprise Lang.

“I was so glad to see his face,” said Lang, who won the 2006 Senior Women’s Amateur to become the seventh to repeat in the 45-year history of the championship. “We put all our karma together and we did it again.”

Heavy Hitters

Several USGA champions were on hand to watch Diane Lang win her second consecutive USGA Women’s Amateur title. The spectatorship at Sea Island Golf Club Thursday included three-time USGA champion Louise Suggs, a long-time teaching professional at the club. Suggs, the 1947 U.S. Women's Amateur and 1949 and 1952 U.S. Women’s Opens champion, was recently named the 2007 USGA Bob Jones Award winner.

Suggs was joined by seven-time USGA champion Anne Sander (1958, 1961 and 1963 U.S. Women’s Amateurs and 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1993 Senior Women’s Amateurs); 1972 U.S. Women’s Amateur winner Mary Budke; 2004 Senior Women’s winner Carolyn Creekmore; and 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Virginia Derby Grimes. In addition, Taffy Brower, a member of the Florida team that won the 1999 USGA Women's State Team, was on hand.

Cecilia Mourgue D’Algue, who was the medalist at the 2006 championship after recording the only subpar round during stroke play, also watched the final match.

Written by Beth Murrison of USGA Media Relations. Contact her at bmurrison@usga.org with questions or comments.