Head Games

Talent has never been an issue for 22-year-old Brittany Lang . Meeting expectations has been simply a matter of attitude

IF BRITTANY LANG were looking for a test of the positive-thinking techniques she recently learned, she found it on the sweltering back nine at Bulle Rock last Saturday. After starting the third round three strokes back of leader Lorena Ochoa , Lang made three birdies on the front nine to take the lead. Then, after the turn, she bogeyed the 10th and doubled the 13th. Betraying no despair, Lang parred the next four holes and made a birdie at 18 to finish with a one-under 71, which put her four shots behind the leader, Jee Young Lee . "Last year if I made a bogey and a double bogey to get back to even, I would have sulked," says Lang . "But today I was positive. I let it go, and I didn't, for once, think about what I did wrong."

Lang 's coach, Bryce Waller, an assistant on the Tennessee men's team, thinks Lang 's blossoming emotional maturity is "the final piece of the puzzle" for a player whose considerable physical talents have yet to be validated with an LPGA tour win. "She has power [her 259-yard driving average is 19th on the LPGA ], she can play a variety of shots, and her putting and wedge game have come a long way," says Waller. "Given her talent and the way she has been playing, any goal is attainable."

Great things have been expected of Lang since she capped two All-America seasons at Duke by tying Morgan Pressel for second at the 2005 U.S. Open while both were still amateurs. As an LPGA rookie in 2006 Lang had seven top 10 finishes, including two thirds. But in 2007, the year she started working with Waller, she missed the cut in 12 of her 27 starts. "It was a transition year, working with some new things," she says. "I'm such a better golfer because of it. I learned my game. I know what I'm doing out there."

Her goal for this year: a better on-course attitude. Waller suggested she visit Vision54 sports psychologists Pia Nelson and Lynn Marriott, who have helped a number of players, including '07 LPGA Championship winner Suzann Pettersen . Since her consultation with the two women in March, Lang has had three top 10s, including a tie for second at the Sybase Classic last month, and she came in 18th at the LPGA Championship. Lang is 18th on the tour money list. "I have felt fantastic on the golf course," she says. "I feel in control."

Lang also has no doubt that the wins will come. "I work very hard and have a ton of talent, so I know it's simply a matter of time."