Call amateur golf standout Meghan Stasi traditional. Even though her maiden name (Bolger) has become very familiar over the past few years, she wanted to take her husband Danny’s last name when they got married.
That change caused a bit of a problem for the amateurgolf.com Player Rankings, as we missed several events in which she played well. It was Danny who let us know, right before heading off to caddie for his wife at the U.S. Women’s Open – and he even offered to wear an amateurgolf.com cap while doing so.
Although she didn’t make the cut, playing in her second Women’s Open was something special for the former coach of Ole Miss.
“It’s something I never even dreamed of doing when I was younger,” said the humble Stasi in a phone interview from Florida.
Stasi, who grew up in New Jersey played her college golf at Tulane – she called New Orleans is her second home – then went on to coach golf at University of Mississippi from 2001 to 2007. She was still the coach of the Ole Miss women’s team when she won her first of two USGA Women’s Mid Amateur championships on “home turf” at Mississippi’s Old Waverly Golf Course in 2006. She won the Mid-Am again in 2007 at Desert Forest in Arizona, and was selected to represent the United States at the Curtis Cup the following year at St. Andrews, going full circle from team member, to coach, to individual player, and back to team member.
“Twenty people from my family came over to St. Andrews to watch me play, which was pretty special,” said Stasi, who continues to play well enough to have a chance to represent the U.S. again in 2010.
Stasi is currently ranked No. 4 in the amateurgolf.com 2009 Women's rankings, thanks to her medalist finish at the US Women’s Open qualifier, and a strong performance in the early season Florida events. It was at one of those tournaments, called the “Orange Blossom Circuit” that Stasi met her husband Danny.
Talk about a match made in heaven. The woman who played for Tulane and calls New Orleans her second home moves to Florida to focus on golf, and meets a guy who loves the game and owns a Cajun cuisine restaurant.
“I met Danny playing in the Dougherty tournament at Coral Ridge, where he is a member,” explained Stasi. “He owns a popular Ft. Lauderdale restaurant called Shuck ‘N Dive.”
The pair married in February, and honeymooned in Dubai.
“She used to give me 5 shots a side,” joked Danny Stasi in our pre-US Open phone call. “But I’m getting better – now I only need 3 a side.”
Founder of amateurgolf.com. Member, Olympic Club and Torrey Pines Mens Club. Always looking for a good game and love to play all types of courses, muni or private. More...
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