The Luigs are here, Joe and Marcia of Carmel, Ind. Marcia is a past chairman of the USGA Women’s Committee. Joe won the USGA’s Joe Dey Award for meritorious service as a volunteer. They’re here to work as rules officials. With 32 first-round matches being played today, a rules official is needed for every match. Marcia is with Match 3, Joe is with Match 4. “We were setting up the course for the Women’s Amateur qualifier in Fort Wayne,” Joe said. “This was only 100 miles out of our way, so we said, ‘Why not?’” These two have been among the USGA’s most loyal rules officials. Like the other officials, it’s on a volunteer basis and they pay their own expenses. The Luigs have officiated at USGA championships all over the country. On Monday, in fact, Joe has to run a U.S. Senior Open qualifier. We asked them why they do this. Joe, who tends to sarcasm, said, “We’ve been doing it for so long that at this age we don’t know what else to do.” Joe and Marcia Luigs, by the way, were both inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame for their contributions to the game. “They were desperate that year,” Joe said.
Rhonda Glenn