Meghan Stasi (USGA Photo)
When it comes to USGA championships and Mid-Amateur golf, not many golfers in its history are more accomplished than
Meghan Stasi.
Stasi has won four
U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012) and ten
Philadelphia Women's Amateurs. She has played four US Women's Opens and represented the winning USA team at St. Andrews for
the Curtis Cup. She finished in the final 32 in the 2023 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur.
Now, she will get a chance to captain the team she made so many memories with 16 years ago as the 2024 Curtis Cup USA team captain. The Curtis Cup is a biennial competition between top female amateur golfers from the United States of America and Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I).
The 43rd Match will be contested at Sunningdale Golf Club in England from August 30 to September 1, 2024.
“It came as a surprise for me,” Stasi said when she got the phone call. “I could enjoy that with my husband privately for a couple of months before it was announced and soaked it all in. I am just looking forward to the entire experience. Once ANWA (Augusta National Women’s Amateur) comes around, it is time to go.”
“Meghan is one of the top amateur players of her generation, and her impact on the women’s amateur game is substantial,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer of the USGA last January. “It was clear to us that Meghan becoming captain of our USA Team was a matter of when, not if, and we’re thrilled she has agreed to take on the role in 2024.”
Related:
Meghan Stasi named 2024 USA Curtis Cup captain
In January, Stasi hosted the first practice in Florida.
“We had 12 girls from throughout the country,” Stasi said. “The important part for me is to see how they interact with each other. About half and half knew each other.”
Stasi added, “It was more of a weekend that was different from normal. It was about golf, but we put them in different situations where they played with the Seminole members and had lunch. It was really about being together and starting that bond.”
That bond is one of the top things that needs to be established to form a successful team.
Meghan Stasi“It is extremely important,” Stasi said about the team's chemistry. “Every scenario is so different. There are so many teams now with high school, college, and international teams. They form those friendships and bonds through that, and this should be one of the most exciting weeks of their life and a week they will remember forever.”
When Stasi played on the Curtis Cup team in 2008, she was captained by Carol Semple Thompson, an amateur golfing legend in her own right.
“I have talked to her,” Stasi said. “Carol is a legend, and I idolize her on so many levels. To have her as my captain meant so much, and I have been fortunate enough to play with her on many occasions throughout the years. I think she is an incredible golfer and an even more incredible person.”
Stasi added, “What she gives back to the game is very important.”
Another takeaway from the practices and watching the girls for the past year has been simply how good they are.
“They play at a different level,” Stasi said. “I have played a lot, and I have been fortunate to play with many players throughout the years, and they are on another level. I have had more fun this year watching golf and learning from their games as well. Anything I can teach them would be great, but they are so strong.”
Stasi added, "I want them to continue to love the game and play it for the rest of their lives."
In 2008, when she helped lead the USA to a Curtis Cup win, she was also able to play at the home of golf at The Old Course in St. Andrews, a place that still holds a spot in her life today.
"It was my first time playing in the UK, and we fell in love with it," Stasi said. "We bought a place in Scotland, and meeting the people over there was very special. It’s a small world, so you are always meeting someone and having an incredible experience."
Golf aside, the one thing Stasi wants the girls to take away from the week is that it should be one of the best weeks of their golfing lives, regardless of the result.
“It was one of the most special weeks of my life, and I am just honored to be able to captain the girls this year,” Stasi said.
ABOUT THE Curtis Cup
Officially named "The Women's
International Cup," the first Curtis Cup
wasn't officially held until 1932. The
biennial competition features the best
female players from the United States of
America pitted against a similar squad
from Great Britain and Ireland. While it
was hoped that many nations would
eventually join the Match, the Curtis Cup
has remained a two-sided competition.
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