BY AAGD STAFF
(July 2019) Lynn University head men’s golf coach Andy Walker has been named the Dave Williams Division II National Coach of the Year presented by Golf Pride Grips, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
“Receiving this honor means a lot to me. Especially the first year as an NCAA Head Coach,” said Walker, 44, who has been an influencer and mentor in the golf industry for many decades. “The first time I received this honor I was at a junior college. It’s the culmination of years of playing, teaching, now coaching. The ultimate award for me and my family.”
The popular Lynn University golf coach brought his coaching philosophy to the Boca Raton (Fla.) school when he was appointed there in August 2018. Walker is well known and highly respected among various PGA, NCAA and international golf authorities. During their search and decision-making process, Lynn University officials strongly considered the excellent recommendations they received from student-athletes whom Walker had coached.
“I’m deeply honored to be recognized by the GCAA and Golf Pride Grips. Winning the NCAA Championship this year and then this Coach of the Year Award just means we did things the right way this year.”
On the morning of Friday, June 7, 2019 Walker became only the second consecutive Lynn men’s golf coach to win National Coach of the Year, the third in program history and the 18th overall for the Fighting Knights.
“This award is a testament to the hard work of our team and my assistant coach, Keith Larson, and their belief in our system of preparation,” said Walker to the Sunshine State Conference presenters. “We could not have accomplished so much without the support of the entire athletic and academic staff at Lynn and my family and my friends who offer unwavering love and mentorship. This is an award for all of us.”
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After turning over two-fifths of the 2018 national championship squad, Walker navigated the Fighting Knights to a victory in the prestigious Otter Invitational in the fall before settling on his starting five in mid-March. Once together, Lynn would finish first or second in its final five tournaments, winning the Bobcat Invitational a tournament-best sixth time, claiming the second NCAA South/Southeast Regional title in program history and knocking off Lincoln Memorial 3-2 to win the program’s second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship.
Walker’s five tournament wins while at Lynn University are the most by a first-year men’s golf coach in program history. Significant is the fact that Walker becomes just the third head coach in Lynn history to win a national title in his inaugural season, and the first in over two decades (Shaun Pendleton, men’s soccer – 1991; Rocky Orrezoli, women’s soccer – 1998).
Walker was the featured cover story of the African American Golfer’s Digest winter/spring issue while competing as a contestant on Golf Channel’s Big Break. There, the world became familiar with an outstanding coach who would go on to lead hundreds of more young golfers to prominence in the sport.
Walker’s coaching history is full of student accolades and life-changing mentorships. His well-known work with junior Toto Gana turned the native Chilean golfer into becoming a GCAA First Team All-American, the program’s first since 2015, while overseeing the development of Freshmen All-Americans Agustin Errazuriz and Giovanni Manzoni. The team also posted the second-lowest team average (286.97) and average individual stroke average (72.67) in program history. Under the first-year coach, Lynn extended its NCAA record (Division I and II) streak of match play appearances to eight and national match play finals appearances to six.
Walker is no stranger to Dave Williams National Coach of the Year recognition after winning the top honor for NJCAA Division II in 2015 while guiding South Mountain Community College to the NJCAA Division II National Title. He was also the NJCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year in 2016 after a second national crown. Walker follows in the footsteps of former Lynn head coaches Andrew Danna (2018) and Eric Abreu (1996) as national coach of the year recipients.
