COLUMBIA, Mo. –Lynn Hurd, a longtime golf instructor and player, will serve as the new head golf coach at Stephens College. She began her duties on Aug. 1 and will lead the first golf program at the College in more than 24 years.

Hurd, a native of Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, played on Stephens’ golf team from 1980-1984 under coach and pro golfer Ann Casey Johnstone, who won the LPGA Teacher and Club Pro Coach of the Year Award for her work at Stephens College. Hurd, who received a golf scholarship, was selected as an individual player for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, AIAW, Division I Golf Championship and was a medalist at the Illini Golf Team Invitational and in tournaments at the University of Missouri, University of Kansas and Purdue University. After graduating from Stephens with a B.A.  in math & computer Science and a golf coaching certificate, Hurd was part of the Future Professional Mini Tour and a Medalist at the Missouri Memorial Week Team Tournament.

“We’re very excited to have Coach Hurd at the helm of our golf program, where she’ll mentor our student-athletes and guide them in competing at the collegiate level,” says Stephens Athletic Director Deb Duren. “Lynn’s an alumna, has connections in the community and brings a passion, expertise and a successful background in the golf world. She also understands that a Stephens College athlete is about giving her best to her sport but also in the classroom.”  

Currently there are nine students on the team, including two freshman, who began practicing together in the fall at their home course – the Columbia Country Club, located across from the College’s Equestrian Center. The partnership with the Columbia Country Club offers students an opportunity to play at a championship golf course. Stephens College will host its first annual fundraising golf tournament there on Monday, April 23, 2012, to benefit the golf team. 

A member of the American Midwest Conference (AMC), the Stephens’ golf program is the latest addition to its National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sports, which already includes basketball, cross country, softball, tennis and volleyball. Stephens joined the NAIA in 2004, making it possible to award athletic scholarships to students.
During the 1970s and ‘80s, Stephens was nationally known for its golf program and (from 1974 to 1978) ranked in the Top 20 and was victorious over Big Eight (now the Big 12) and Big Ten schools.

Founded in 1833, Stephens College is the second-oldest women’s college in the country and prepares students to become leaders and innovators in a rapidly changing world. Stephens engages lifelong learners in an educational experience characterized by intellectual rigor, creative expression and professional practice, in an environment supported by accomplished faculty and dedicated alumnae.

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