Colorado University Athletics
Talley To Compete At WUG For Team USA
January 21, 2011 | Women's Golf
BOULDER - University of Colorado women's golfer Emily Talley has been selected to compete for Team USA at the Summer World University Games, set to take place in Shenzhen, China, August 12-23.
Talley is one of five women's golfers from the United States selected to compete in the games, which is the equivalent of the Summer Olympic Games for college participants around the world.
"I think it is going to be an exceptional opportunity for me and I'm very excited about it," Talley said. "This is not just a national level type of event, it's worldwide and it will be a great experience."
The Championship will be a 72-hole, stroke play event, with three players comprising the team and two golfers playing as individuals. The team will not be together until August, but several of the players will see each other this spring or summer in competitions.
"I am very excited about the players on our USA women's golf team," USA coach Diane Thomason said. "They are all experienced, competitive players, who will represent the USA in fine fashion. Aside from being great players, they are great people who will be good ambassadors for the USA. I can't wait to see them play the golf course."
This is the second time that golf has been a part of the World University Games, with the sport usually competing in the World University Golf Championship. Unlike that event, this will include 23 other sports both male and female with an estimated 8,000 athletes competing worldwide.
Talley just completed one of the most successful fall seasons in CU history, turning in five top 10 performances including a second place to open the season at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic. She became one of two golfers in program history to record a stroke average under 74 in the fall when she finished with an average of 72.67 and she was seven strokes over par for the entire fall, or 15 rounds. She has set or is near the top of nearly every CU record and has accumulated four top five, 13 top 10 and 18 top 20 finishes in her career. She has compiled 16 subpar rounds and four rounds in the 60s, of which seven subpar and three rounds in the 60s came this season already.
She led the Buffs to their best fall in program history as a team with two team victories and one second, third and fourth place in those five events. This season, she has set CU records for most strokes under par in a round (6-under, third round at the Dick McGuire Invitational) and a tournament (7-under at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic). CU is currently ranked in the top 25 in the Golfstat, Golfweek and Golf World polls.
"I was thrilled that Emily accepted my invitation to participate on the team," Thomason said. "She is a talented player that has shown that she can go low and put up some great golf scores. She is also a team player, which is very important to me as a coach,"
Because golf does not have a National Governing Body, like the Olympic sports, there is no funding for the team. Team USA relies on donors to support the players in their pursuit of the gold medal.
Talley is allowed to fundraise on behalf of Team USA for the trip with her portion of the fundraising expected to be about $6,000, of which $2,000 is due by February 28. Those interested in helping Team USA offset costs for the trip can send checks made payable to USA Golf and send them to USA Golf, c/o Diane Thomason, head coach, 1826 Southridge Drive, Coralville, IA, 52241. On checks you send in, write "Emily Talley" in the memo box.
Thomason works as a development officer at the University of Iowa and was formerly the school's head women's golf coach for 27 years and a member of the first varsity women's golf team at Iowa State. She has led Team USA for 25 years.
Shenzhen is a coastal city situated close to Hong Kong, in the Guangdong Providence of South China. It is known as "China's Theme Park" and the "Capital of Tourism Innovation" as one of the most important cities in the country for tourism. As a point of interest, the golf course the Championship is played on is a Jack Nicklaus design called Mission Hills.
Ironically, Talley's grandfather was stationed near Hong Kong during his time in the navy.
