Former Lady Bulldog Now In Golf Universe
June 12, 2009 | Women's Basketball
A series of articles catching up with former Georgia Lady Bulldogs will appear on georgiadogs.com this summer on a weekly basis. This week's focuses on Angie Ball, a standout for UGA in the late-90s and 2000. Links to previous stories can be found below.
June 5 Kelly Miller returns to Minnesota
ATHENS, Ga. --- With the U.S. Open just around the corner beginning on June 18th, millions of fans throughout the nation wait anxiously to watch their favorite professional golfers perform in one of the most highly looked upon tournaments in the sport.
Former Georgia Lady Bulldog Angie (Ball) Watson will have one of the best vantage points at Bethpage Golf Course. She will be alongside her husband, Bubba Watson, who also is a UGA grad and the longest hitter on the PGA Tour.
Angie and Bubba will celebrate their fifth anniversary on September 1 and up until seven months ago, she stood as chief executive officer for her husband's career. Angie oversaw the business and marketing ends of his golf profession.
Though the experiences are distinctly different, Angie thinks that playing basketball at Georgia helped prepare her for a career in the world of professional golf.
"I think Coach Landers' style of coaching was geared for developing players for future careers, either in basketball or otherwise," she said. "When I played at Georgia, I never understood why he was so demanding all the time; however, after being coached by him, I now know I could take anything thrown at me down the road."
After managing Bubba's professional obligations for several years, Angie decided to step down.
“It became very stressful and too overwhelming,” she said. “Bubba and I have hired a large management company to take on the roll.”
While pursuing her undergrad degree at Georgia, Angie was a standout at the positions of center and forward for the Lady Dogs from 1997-2000. She was Georgia's first-ever signee from Canada, where she was a five-year starter at Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute (SOMCI). During this period, she averaged 26 pts 10 rebounds and 8 blocks and helped SOMCI to the 1993 Toronto Metro Championship and the 1992 Scarborough Championship.
Come college, Angie drew immediate attention to herself at Georgia, representing a strong leadership role on teams that reached the 1999 NCAA Final Four and won the 2000 SEC Championship. She posted career highs of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
Angie experienced numerous injuries in her basketball career. As a result, she began working as an intern with the Athens-Clarke County department of leisure services, putting together different basketball clinics for girls.
Angie had hoped to go to the WNBA out of college; however, a severe ankle sprain kept her from doing so. After recovering, she began playing professionally in 2000 in Italy with the Laghi a first division team in the Italian league. At Laghi, Ball averaged 12 points and eight rebounds.
Playing basketball in another country was not always easy.
“Being overseas had its ups and downs. I did a lot of maturing there. I don’t think I would have been able to deal with the living alone and learning a new language had I not been coached by Coach Landers. I enjoyed Italy a lot, it was a great experience,” she said.
Finally, in 2001, Angie fulfilled her dream of playing in the WNBA. Ball signed with the Charlotte Sting. She played one season in the WNBA; however, she was injured for most of the year. Her frequent injuries led Ball to retirement from basketball.
“Along with making it to the 1999 NCAA Final Four, my proudest accomplishment in my basketball career was making it to the WNBA,” she said.
Ball is very happy and content with where she is currently at in life.
“I am proud that I have been able to be a supportive wife and be there for my husband," she said. "I am proud that I have been able to accept my short-lived WNBA career and move forward. I believe I would still be playing in the pros had it not been for my injuries, so I am just thankful I have overcome and been able to accept my place in life right now. I’m at peace with where I am and I am glad I get to support my husband. We are a team together.”
