Andy Walker Bio - Head Golf Coach Lynn University
Andy Walker was announced as head coach of the Fighting Knights men's golf team on August 7, 2018, becoming the fourth head coach in the storied program's history. Walker has over a decade of professional touring experience and has coached at the collegiate and professional levels, earning nine Coach of the Year award designations.
His first season at the helm was one for the record books as he guided the Fighting Knights to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship, becoming the third coach in Lynn history to win a national title in his inaugural year. His squad captured five tournament titles, tying for the second-most for a single-season in program history and the most for a first-year coach.
Under his tutelage four student-athletes were honored as All-Americans, the most since 2016, with two newcomers also garnering Freshman All-America recognition. Additionally, Toto Gana became the first men’s golfer in school history, and fourth overall, to be named the Sunshine State Conference Male Athlete of the Year.
Walker relocated to Boca Raton from Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as the head coach of men's golf at South Mountain Community College (SMCC) and as a senior staff instructor and director of player development at the Golf Channel Academy.
Since 2013, Walker led the SMCC Cougars to back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Championships in 2015 and 2016. The Cougars also held the No. 1 national ranking for 155 out of 156 weeks since the summer of 2013. Walker's most decorated recruiting class claimed three Region I Championships, four Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Championships and 31 tournament victories. Walker has coached two Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Phil Mickelson National Freshman of the Year honorees and three GCAA Arnold Palmer National Champions. His student-athletes have collected a combined 25 All-American selections and 30 All-ACCAC accolades. Off the course, SMCC was named the 2018 NJCAA Academic Team of the Year with a 3.81 GPA.
At the Golf Channel Academy, Walker trained junior to professional-level golfers to build physical and mental skills that translate into improvements during competition. Walker's clients include professional golfers from the PGA, LPGA and European Tours, along with notable stars from the NFL and MLB.
Walker's success earned him a GCAA Dave Williams National Coach of the Year accolade, two nods as the NJCAA National Coach of the Year, five ACCAC Coach of the Year awards and a GCAA West Region Coach of the Year honor.
Walker also has been featured as a television and radio personality in multiple capacities since 2010. He was a contestant on the Golf Channel's reality show Big Break Ireland while co-hosting the NBC Sports Radio Show For the Love of the Game.
Before Walker joined the coaching ranks, he spent 11 years playing professionally on various domestic and international tours. He played in over 375 professional tournaments, garnering 28 professional victories and over 70 Top-10 finishes. Walker ranked as high as No. 272 among Americans on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and was the second-highest ranked African American in the world on the OWGR, behind only Tiger Woods.
Walker first tasted national collegiate success as a student-athlete, winning the 1997 NCAA National Championship at Pepperdine University. During his three years as a Pepperdine Wave, Walker was a two-time All-West Coast Conference selection and the 1997 WCC Individual Champion.
He graduated from Pepperdine University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and was inducted into the Pepperdine Sports Hall of Fame. He is also K-Vest Level II, Trackman and Flightscope certified and holds memberships with the Golf Channel Academy and GCAA.