COLLEGE GOLF
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tanford women’s coach Anne Walker collected rare television time on May 27, traipsing the final few holes alongside one of her star players, Mariah Stackhouse, in
the NCAA championship match against Baylor. But Walker’s biggest contribution to her
program’s first national title didn’t come on Golf Channel, through a swing tip or strategic maneuver. She needed to keep her team together during a tumultuous season in which four players had surgery and others lost confidence in their game. “We were starting to leak oil,” Walker said.
“So we spent a ton of time rallying the group. I constantly told them, ‘I believe in you guys. The adversity makes us stronger.’ ” Stanford managed to qualify for NCAAs and
shared the first-round lead. But the Cardinal shot 35-over par the next day, the worst score in the field, and tumbled back into the pack. Some players were crying outside the team van in Bradenton, Fla. They feared they had squandered their chance of advancing to match play. That’s when Walker saved the season with an
all-time halftime speech reminding the players of their earlier obstacles. She lifted their spirits, and they laughed at the parallel. And then, mirroring the regular season, they surged on the final two days of stroke play, steamed into the finals and won an epic title match, ultimately secured when Stack- house outlasted Baylor’s Hayley Davis in 19 holes. “I’m not sure we could have come back if we
hadn’t had all those struggles all year,” Walker said. The wider-angle point here: College golf
coaches wear countless hats, psychologist included. They work mostly in anonymity, a world
removed from their high-profile counterparts in football and basketball. They also tackle a unique
24 /
NCGA.ORG / FALL 2015 G •
San Jose State Coach John Kennaday with sophomore Brett Thawley
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