STANFORD, Calif. — For the fourth time in her career, Anne Walker has been named the Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year, as announced by the WGCA on Wednesday.
The Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf just completed her 14th season on The Farm, and this year’s team might have been Walker’s best. All five golfers in the lineup were ranked inside the top-20 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, including four in the top-10. Four different individuals won this year en route to Stanford taking home eight stroke play tournament wins and sweeping through the postseason, winning both the ACC and NCAA Championships.
The one question that hung over Stanford entering the postseason was just how strong the Cardinal was at match play. Stanford answered that question with authority, not dropping a single point at either the ACC or NCAA Championships, claiming its third NCAA title in the last five years and fourth under Walker.
In overall head-to-head scoring this season, Stanford went 129-3. Over the last four years, coinciding with Megha Ganne’s and Kelly Xu’s time on The Farm, Stanford went 506-20-5, featuring more individual winners (23) than overall defeats (20).
All five in Stanford’s lineup were named All-Americans for the third year in a row, and since Walker took over in 2012, she has produced 42 All-Americans.
With four WGCA National Coach of the Year Awards, Walker trails only Dan Brooks of Duke, who has earned the award six times.