Lang becomes first Duke alumnae to win on LPGA

• By Ryan Ballengee
• Jun 24, 2012 10:40 PM ET

Brittany Lang ended one of golf's longest droughts on Sunday. 

Lang became the first player from Duke University to win on the LPGA. She won the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in a four-person playoff.

Until Sunday, a total of 16 Blue Devils had competed on the LPGA without a single victory.  

Before her breakthrough in Waterloo – a fitting city for the end of a scourge to the Duke's women's golf program – Lang had been runner-up on the LPGA six times. The first actually came as an amateur, finishing T-2 in the 2005 U.S. Women's Open that went to Birdie Kim at Cherry Hills. Since turning pro in July 2005, she finished T-2 twice in 2008 and again in 2009. Last season, Lang was runner-up to Yani Tseng at the Ricoh Women's British Open.

Others had come close, too, but came up just short of grabbing that first win. Beth Bauer was runner-up at the 2002 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic. Jean Bartholomew finished T-2 in 2000 at the now defunct Betsy King Classic. 

Then, of course, there was Jenny Chuasiriporn. After her junior year, she took Se Ri Pak to the limit at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run. Pak, then 20 years old, would prevail on the second hole of sudden death after an 18-hole playoff. 

Perhaps a second LPGA win is in the cards for Duke. The U.S. Women's Open returns to Blackwolf Run next week.