50 Years of Women's Varsity Athletics: Women's Golf

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50 Years of Women's Varsity Athletics: Women's Golf

5/30/2022 8:27:00 AM | Women's Golf, Athletics

Legacy Talk with Candy Hannemann

By: GoDuke The Magazine

Duke is celebrating 50 years of varsity women's athletics in 2021-22. This is the seventh installment of a year-long GoDuke The Magazine series reflecting on the Blue Devils' 13 women's sports programs. For more from the university, see dukengwsd.com/dukewomens50 or #DukeWomens50 on social media.

Candy Hannemann ranks as one of the top golfers in Duke history. She was a freshman on Duke’s first NCAA championship team in 1999, playing a huge role with a second-place individual finish. The Blue Devils won their second title her senior year and she cemented it by shooting 68 the final round. She also won an NCAA individual title as a junior, an ACC individual title as a senior and propelled her team to the conference championship all four years. Other highlights from her college days included winning the Honda Award, the ACC Player of the Year trophy and finishing as the low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2001. She played on the LPGA Tour for eight years with six top-10 finishes and was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. After leaving the Tour in 2009 due to injury, she attempted a comeback in 2015 in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in her native Rio de Janeiro.

WOMEN'S GOLF FILE

» Women’s golf ranks as Duke’s most successful sport with seven NCAA championships and 22 ACC titles. The program has had just three head coaches: Jane Lloyd (1974-79), Ron Schmid (1980-84) and Dan Brooks (1985-present).
» Brooks is the winningest coach in college women’s golf history with a record 140 tournament titles, including seven NCAAs. He is a true Hall of Famer, inducted in the Duke Athletics, Women’s Golf Coaches Association, Carolinas Golf Association and most recently the North Carolina Sports halls of fame.
» Duke’s run of NCAA crowns includes titles in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2019. The Blue Devils have had four NCAA individual champs in Candy Hannemann (2001), Virada Nirapathpongporn (2002), Anna Grzebien (2005) and Virginia Elena Carta (2016).
» Duke has had the national player of the year (either Honda or WGCA) 12 times since 2001. Duke has had 20 ACC players of the year.
» Amanda Blumenherst (2006-09) and Mary Anne Widman (1981-84) share the Duke record for most tournament wins at 12 apiece.
» Duke’s most successful LPGA Tour player has been Brittany Lang with over $7 million in earnings and a U.S. Women’s Open title (2016).

You were at Duke during an incredible time for women’s golf with two national championships and four ACC championships. What are some of the things you remember most fondly about that time?

We had such an incredible team that was so successful, but my favorite memories are with my teammates, not necessarily us winning. I remember on one of our trips we bought Lucky Charms and somebody ate all the marshmallows and there was a huge conflict about who ate the marshmallows. So when I look back, those are the memories I cherish the most.

But obviously winning our first NCAA championship (in 1999) was really, really special. That was a team that bonded incredibly well. It was such a great mix of seniors and freshmen coming in. Jenny (Chuasiriporn) and Filippa (Hansson) really took us in as seniors and made us feel welcome, but also built a culture around our team that lasted the whole time I was there. Winning the first one was special, and winning my last year was special because it gave me an opportunity to leave with incredible memories and seal the deal on that last day. The championships are great but the memories with my teammates are far better.

You mentioned the team culture. How would you describe the culture around Duke women’s golf?

We had a lot of fun, and we worked really hard. It was super competitive but we did have a lot of fun. Jenny being a senior when we were freshmen, she really set the tone for what Duke women’s golf was. She really highlighted the fact that we were there for golf and that was important, but that Duke was so much more. She always forced us to hang out with students that we didn’t know, to make sure we embraced all that Duke had to offer, like that full experience. I think that was part of the culture when I was there. We embraced the full experience of Duke as much outside our team as we did with our team. But it was a competitive team, a team that really respected one another, so I think that was also the culture. But we had a lot of fun.

Dan Brooks, your head coach, has been there a long time now, 38 years, with incredible success. Why do you think the program has been able to sustain such a high level of excellence over such a prolonged period of time?

First of all I think the world of Coach Brooks. I have a close relationship with him still. I just really enjoy speaking with him whenever we get together, which is not often enough. I think he really respects his players. He’s able to understand what his team brings to the table, he understands the personalities and brings them together. He also embraces the Duke experience and allows his student-athletes to truly be student-athletes and enjoy Duke and prioritize academics when needed. But he is also as competitive as anyone you’ve ever met. So that combination of being a super incredible guy, very competitive, and understanding the dynamics it takes to bring a team together really makes him a wonderful coach.

When you talk about experiencing all Duke has to offer, you were back on campus recently for your 20-year reunion. Now 20 years removed from your undergraduate days, how do you think being a Duke student and a Duke student-athlete impacted your life overall?

Tremendously! I always go back, and I still feel like Duke is home for me so whenever I go back it gives me so many good memories. Duke really taught me to have that balance between my golf and understanding that there is this world where everybody is incredibly talented and everybody brings something to the table. I love that culture about Duke. It’s such a warm place for me. The staff does an incredible job. Our athletic department is full of really great people that care deeply about student-athletes. So I think that’s what I’ve taken away — caring for the community and understanding that everybody is talented in their own way. And just really having a feeling of incredible pride in being part of the Duke athletic program.

When you were named to the board of directors for the American Junior Golf Association last year, you commented on how important it was to provide opportunities for women in golf, women of color in golf and in sports in general. You had the opportunity to go to Duke, but what were opportunities like when you were growing up and how do you see that now?

I was a little blinded by it when I was growing up. I just really wanted to get on the golf course and play great golf. I didn’t hear any of the noise or really understand it. I think now looking back, understanding the sport a little better, I understand that we still have a long way to go when it comes to diversity within golf. I see that my ability to play really good golf enabled me to break some barriers and I want to make sure that the road is easier for the people who come behind us. Golf needs diversity, sports needs diversity. We’re only better when we have an inclusive environment where we have diverse perspectives. I don’t think growing up I thought of it that much, but now looking back, how do we make sure we build a great road or path for the youth coming behind us?

What is your personal and professional life like today, 20 years after college?

Life is crazy, life is very different. I don’t play as much golf as I would like to, but being part of the American Junior Golf Association brings me so much joy because I feel like I’m able to relive so many great memories on the golf course through them. Golf is not as big a part of my life any more. I work in the marketing department of UnitedHealth Group, I love what I do and enjoy being in health care but definitely miss golf and try to get involved as much as I can. I have an unbelievable family — two girls, Stella (9) and Luiza (7), and my husband Adam who I adore dearly, who works for the Red Sox, so I get a lot of sports through him. The kids I think are bigger baseball fans than golf fans. I’m trying, but the hot dogs and all the fun activities at a baseball game are killing my golf! But I’m trying.

50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VARSITY ATHLETICS

“When I see how integral women’s varsity sports are at Duke University, it’s hard to fathom that our athletics department once operated without these incredible female athletes. That which was added on 50 years ago has become central to who we are. Despite financial and cultural challenges, Duke has stepped up since Title IX. All four of the athletics directors I’ve worked for — Tom Butters, Joe Alleva, Kevin White, and now Nina King — have pushed the agenda on women’s athletics at Duke. I’m proud of the department we’ve become, thanks to their leadership.”