JAMAICAN DIANE Lang did the island proud when she became the first local golfer to walk away with a USGA title after winning the 2005 USGA Senior Women Amateur Championship last week.
The event, at the Apawamis Club in New York, featured four days of competition during which competitors were required to play 36 non-stop holes on two of the days.
"I played the best golf of my life," stated Lang, who now has a 10-year exemption to the tournament, a one-year exemption to the U.S. Women's Amateur next year and a three-year exemption to the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur event.
Lang earned her card as a U.S. LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) player in 1983 when she qualified at Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Florida, known as the home of PGA professionals Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara. She spent three years as a professional on the Tour before moving to Europe.
She only recently started playing competitively again and the Championship was the 50-year-old's second USGA event. In her final-round match, Lang was two down after nine holes but rallied to take a one-up lead on four-time champion Carol Semple Thompson of Pennsylvania, a lead which she took with her to the 18th green to capture the silverware.
"I was dejected on the 18th tee," said Lang, "but I convinced myself to stay calm. I was very nervous, believe me, but I hit the best wedge I could and kept my head down on my putts there at 18."
