Today@Sam Article
Bearkat Legends: Landa (Stewart) Wright
April 12, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins
The following story is part of a series featuring the Bearkats inducted into Sam Houston State University’s Hall of Honor this fall. All seven inductees will be featured in Today@Sam articles throughout the academic year outlining their lives and athletic journeys.
Few Sam Houston State University golfers graced the course as often as 2023 Hall of Honor inductee Landa Wright. From 2006-11, the legendary Bearkat competed in 45 tournaments and helped lead the squad to a conference title as a freshman as she helped shape the future of the program.
Wright proved to be a fast learner when it came to the game she loved. She didn’t pick up the clubs until age 11 but quickly established herself as a force at the junior level.
“Nobody had ever played golf in my family,” said The Woodlands native. “My father was managing a country club at the time and randomly suggested I attend a summer golf camp. I immediately fell in love with it.”
She competed in her first ever tournament at the conclusion of the week-long camp. Since she had only been playing for a handful of days, she admitted she did not perform at a very high level in the nine-hole contest. The event did, however, spark a competitive drive in the young athlete that would never dissipate.
“It was addicting. I just wanted to get better and better,” Wright said. “For me, it was the personal challenge. I had played basketball my whole life, so switching to a sport like that, where it was all on you, made me fall in love. There wasn’t anyone or anything you could blame but yourself for a poor performance.”
The poor performances didn’t last long. After her first taste, she quickly linked up with a mentor and developed her game through daily training and by competing in any tournament she could. By the age of 12, she was named her club’s junior player of the year, which set the stage for a prestigious high school career.
“I knew in middle school that I wanted to play in college, that became a goal of mine,” Wright said. “The Woodlands High School was known for their prestigious golf program. Just to be on varsity meant that you had talent, and I was playing with some of the top recruits in the nation. When you’re competing with those kinds of players, you start to envision that being you in a couple of years.”
By her sophomore year at The Woodlands, Wright was shooting par and placing in tournaments. She soon realized that her dream of playing at the collegiate level would soon become a reality.
“I didn’t grow up connected to any particular college, so when I got the opportunity to be recruited, the decision to go to Sam was an easy one,” Wright said. “I had some teammates who I had grown up playing with who agreed to transfer there when I was set to be a freshman, so there were a lot of people I already knew.”
Along with SHSU’s proximity to her hometown, Wright admitted this camaraderie played a huge role in her ultimate decision.
“As much as golf is individualistic it is still very much a team sport and you spend a lot of time with those people,” Wright said. “That made me really comfortable with my decision to become a Bearkat.”
Due to the rigorous and successful program offered at The Woodlands, along with the support offered by the SHSU athletics department, she felt that her transition to the college game was a seamless one.
“The expectations were the same,” she said. “I was mentally prepared for the workload and focused not only on being the best student I could be, but getting the most out of each day on the golf course.”
She was also a part of a new era of Bearkat golf. During her freshman season, Tommy Chain took over as the team’s coach and began building a culture that he still cultivates in the position today. He helped lead the newly assembled Bearkats to their second Southland Conference title in the league tournament at Horseshoe Bay, in which three SHSU golfers finished in the league top five rankings (with Wright finishing fifth).
“That was a special tournament,” Wright said. “In golf, you have ups and downs, so going into that tournament and seeing us play so well as a team was awesome. We were riding on a high.”
Wright would earn an honorable mention All-Southland Conference for her performance in 2007 as well as 2008 and carried a 78.20 stroke average in 124 total rounds as a Bearkat. She finished sixth at 2008 SLC Tournament and fifth at 2007 SLC Tournament and picked up her first two career victories as a senior when she won the Harold Funston Invitational and the Hal Sutton Invitational. She also scored a collegiate best round of 67 at the Arkansas State Tournament in 2007.
In the classroom, Wright earned her degree in health with a minor in biology and participated in a sports therapy internship shortly after graduation. After focusing on motherhood for 10 years, she returned to the professional world as a teacher. She currently teaches math and science at Powell Elementary School in Conroe ISD.
“I really just wanted to be around kids and work in this area in general,” Wright said. “Someday, when my kids are older, I hope to get back to The Woodlands golf program and coach.”
Wright was visiting her husband’s hometown in Canada when she got word of her upcoming induction into the Hall of Honor. Coach Chain initially attempted to inform her, but neither the international call nor voicemail went through.
“He finally just texted me and told me the news,” Wright said. “We are still very close to each other, so it was very special to hear it from him. I was super shocked, and it was pretty emotional with a lot of happy tears. I had seen a lot of my teammates get inducted, but I was not expecting it.”
In November, she returned to campus with her family and was honored with an induction ceremony and weekend festivities.
“Being around past and current inductees was super humbling,” Wright said. “To be honored with these amazing athletes was so special.”
Wright and her husband Larry have two children, Ramsey, age 10, and Remy, age 8.
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