ATHENS, Ga. — It is a homecoming of sorts, one the young freshman has been looking forward to for some time.
"I miss mama's cooking, there’s no doubt about that," said Riverdale, Ga., native Mariah Stackhouse, who traveled to her home state this week with her Stanford Cardinal women's golf teammates for the Women’s NCAA Championship at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
Stackhouse received a warm welcome, and not just from friends and family. As the owner of the new NCAA women's single-round scoring record and a recent First Team All Pac-12 selection, the 19-year-old is no longer seen as the local kid with a lot of potential. She is now looked upon as one of the best amateur women in the world.
Her galleries in Athens proved it. Teeing off on Thursday afternoon, Stackhouse was tied for fourth behind Alabama's Stephanie Meadow, who won the SEC individual title; Southern California freshman Annie Park, the top-ranked collegiate golfer in the country; and a surging Ally McDonald from Mississippi State. But the local girl was the definite favorite, even though she brushed off schools nearer to home to go to school in Palo Alto, Calif.
She has not regretted the decision.
"It is all the way across the country," she said with a laugh when the subject of choosing Stanford came up. "But coming out here wasn’t that bad. We had our first (golf) event before school started, so I got to get out here and get acquainted with the team and with Coach (Anne Walker) without the stress of academics."
She had another fan who made a big difference in her choice.
"I follow golf and so I knew of Mariah's exceptional talent and success on the course," Stanford professor and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "I remember meeting her with her parents outside of the Stanford Golf Club House. She was confident, well-spoken, interested in her academic choices, and very nice. I said to the coach, 'She's a natural for Stanford.'"
As an African-American woman — still a rarity in the world of women’s golf — Stackhouse was honored that Dr. Rice took such an interest.
"You hear about what an amazing person Dr. Rice is and all her accomplishments, but more than anything I’ve been impressed by how real and down to earth she is," Stackhouse said. "One of the highlights of my year has been getting to know her. She took the time to come out and meet me and when I shot (an NCAA record) 61 she sent a note to me congratulating me on the round."
The 61 Stackhouse fired on Feb. 17 (Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford) included a front-nine 26, equaling the lowest nine-hole score on the PGA Tour and a stroke better than the lowest nine holes in LPGA Tour history.
"I feel so lucky that I got to see that," Walker said. "The fact that I got to see a 61 and be a part of that: what a blessing."
It would be an even bigger blessing if Stackhouse captures an NCAA title for Stanford. The team was 21 shots behind USC in the middle of Thursday's third round, but Stackhouse was within striking distance of an individual title.
No African-American woman has ever won an NCAA golf title, a fact that Stackhouse knows but tries not to think about.
"Mariah will make her own way," Dr. Rice said. "I do know that I benefited a great deal from competitive athletics — I was a skater. I am sure that the same is true of Mariah."
