She knows golf. Now former USC player takes swing at US Women’s Open analyst gig

It’s not surprising that a former women’s golfer with South Carolina roots would be excited about meeting legendary LPGA star Beth Daniel when the 74th U.S. Women’s Open begins play Thursday at the Country Club of Charleston.

Unlike most of those attending the tournament, though, Meredith Taylor’s fandom will take a back seat to her job this week: conducting interviews and talking golf with some of the top names on the LPGA Tour.

Taylor, whose day job is in the financial field in Columbia, will take time off to work as a reporter and analyst for Charleston Sports Radio, an ESPN affiliate. She’ll be teamed with Jamie Bradford, host of “The JB Show” from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays, broadcasting live from the first women’s major staged in South Carolina since 1962, when the Open was at Myrtle Beach’s Dunes Golf & Beach Club.

The 33-year-old Lexington native says she’ll do so strictly as “a former University of South Carolina women’s golfer.” No business advice for LPGA players this week — though she did a bit of that, too, in years past.

“I know some of the (players) from golf, and I’ll try to get them on,” Taylor said. “Austin Ernst” — an LPGA regular from Greenville who played collegiately for LSU — “will be one, absolutely. And the USGA has some folks they’ll want to get on.

“And,” she added with a burst of enthusiasm, “Annika Sorenstam (now-retired LPGA superstar who once hosted a Charleston LPGA event) said she would call in one day.”

That’s pretty heady company for a former walk-on at USC who played only sporadically in college due to injuries. But Taylor’s outgoing personality and local knowledge — she recently did “recon” at Country Club of Charleston, playing with tournament chairman Frank Ford III — made her a logical, if somewhat unusual, choice for resident expert.

She’s an occasional guest on WNKT-FM 107.5 The Game’s afternoon broadcasts with host Jay Philips, especially when the topic is golf. Recently, Taylor exercised her on-air skills by analyzing the men’s PGA Championship, and she sat in with Philips in April during the Masters. “I’ve played Augusta National, and I went to watch the Masters for 18 years,” she said.

Still, when Bradford contacted her about working the Women’s Open, Taylor admits she was surprised.

“He emailed me out of the blue,” she said. “He said, ‘I need an analyst and I’ve heard you on 107.5. I think you’re a natural.’ ”

Taylor knows golf, even if her career was a study in what-if. She was late to golf, preferring basketball until just before her ninth-grade year. “I went to the Country Club of Lexington one day and the coach there said, ‘Do you want to play on the girls’ team?’ ” she said.

Her scores improved from the 100s as a freshman to the 70s as a senior, when she was team captain, and afterward she walked on at USC, eventually earning a scholarship. Redshirted in 2004-05, she mostly focused on classes the next two years (twice making the SEC Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll) due to multiple knee surgeries.

“She battled her body, had what I called ‘basketball knees,’ ” said former USC coach Kristi Coggins. Taylor played just twice in USC’s 2007-08 season, and after abortive attempts at LPGA qualifying school, the sports and entertainment management major became an agent for Gamecocks teammate Katie Burnett.

When her current job opened up, though, “I knew it was time; I’d done all I could for Katie, and she understood,” she said.

“She’s a great girl,” Coggins said. “When I heard from her about (the radio gig), she was bubbling. She said, ‘I’m going to be on ESPN at the Women’s Open.’ I think that’s great. She’s got that cute Southern accent, and she’s always had a confident demeanor and strong voice.”

That, combined with general golf knowledge and research, should get the job done, Taylor said. “Frank Ford was the best person to play with because of his local knowledge,” she said. “I can tell (listeners) the greens are the course’s defense. They have a lot of false fronts and ‘turtle backs,’ so you’ve got to execute your irons shots into those greens.

“A lot depends on the wind off the water, too. I played there two days and there were completely ridiculous winds one day and no wind the other. That could make the championship interesting.”

Interesting, too, could be Taylor’s exposure via her assignment. The broadcasts will be local (WWIK-FM ESPN 98.9, WTMZ-FM ESPN 94.7 and WTMZ-AM 910), but “you can hear it from anywhere,” she said, via the TuneIn Radio app or at the station’s website, charlestonsportsradio.com.

Realistically, though, she knows this is a one-shot deal, not an audition. She figures to be back in her office come Monday. Covering the Women’s Open, she expects to have “no jitters, not at all. I’m very laid back, an extrovert. I enjoy talking.”

And of course, there’s that whole business about meeting Beth Daniel.

US Women’s Open TV schedule

▪ Thursday/Friday: 2:30-7:30 p.m., FS1

▪ Saturday/Sunday: 2-7 p.m., Fox

Also streaming at usga.org

This story was originally published May 24, 2019 at 8:34 AM.