Colleen Walker
Captain, Team USA

Colleen Walker has overcome great adversity during her distinguished golfing career. She has encountered two season-ending, or possibly, career-ending challenges.

In 2000, during the first round of the Longs Drug Challenge, she hit a tree root and tore the cartilage in her left wrist, which caused her to miss the rest of the season. The injury flared up again in 2002, and she was unable to compete for the entire season.

But the biggest obstacle Walker encountered began when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2003. She underwent chemotherapy and radiation with the hopes of returning to competitive golf in 2004, and she did. In September of 2004, she tied for tenth at her first competitive event since being diagnosed with cancer.

Walker's return to golf is a capstone to her great career. From the very beginning of her journey, Walker has been persevering and coming out a champion. She hails from Jacksonville, Fla., where she was named Palm Beach Post Athlete and Player of the Year in 1974.

She went on to play golf at Florida State University, where she earned Most Valuable Player Honors in 1977 and 1978.

Walker qualified for the LPGA Tour in 1982 by winning the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. With several top professional finishes under her belt, Walker won her first LPGA tournament in 1987 at the Mayflower Classic and has gone on to win a total of nine LPGA tournaments.

In 1988, she won the Boston Five Classic and partnered with Dave Hill to win the Mazda Champions. Walker also earned the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, an honor that she is particularly proud of. She also led the Tour in top-10 finishes (18), rounds under par (55), and rounds in the 60s (29).

Walker's success continued and she won her first major championship in 1997 at the du Maurier Classic. She then took two weeks off, and came back to win the Star Bank LPGA Classic with three straight rounds in 60s (67-69-67).

Aside from her golf success, Walker is a mother and wife. She is married to Ron Bakich and has a son Tyler, who is nine, and their family resides in Valrico, Fla.

Beth Reuter Assistant Captain • AJGA Reuter graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Business and Sports Management including four years of playing golf for the Jayhawks. Her biggest golf accomplishment was when she qualified for the Women’s Amateur in 1997. She works for the AJGA as the Vice President/Regional Director of the South Central region.