Women's Golf
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- anne.kelly@colorado.edu
It’s no coincidence that Colorado’s climb as one of the top programs in the region has coincided with the hiring of Anne Kelly as its second head coach in 1997.
Entering her 27th season as head coach of the Colorado women’s golf team, Kelly has helped usher in a new era, with the school moving into the toughest women’s golf conference in the country, the Pac-12.
Kelly returned to her native Colorado from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she filled head coaching duties for one-and-a-half years. Prior to her work at UNC Greensboro, she spent five years from 1991-96 as a teaching professional at Silverbell Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz., where she earned PGA Class A status, a position which followed a six-year stint from 1984-90 on the LPGA Tour.
During her six seasons on the women’s tour, Kelly won a Women’s Professional Golf Tour event in Phoenix in 1991. She fired a career low round of 69 at the 1989 McDonald’s Championship and her career-best finishes included several top-20 finishes. Her professional career culminated in a career-low scoring average of 74.63 in 1990.
Kelly sparkled as a collegiate golfer, earning four letters for head coach Fred Warren and the Texas Christian University women’s golf team. She was a member of the Horned Frogs’ 1983 NCAA Championship team, and, all told, won 25 tournament team titles during her four-year career from 1979-83. She was named the team’s most valuable player in 1980 and won TCU’s Dutch Meyer Award, which recognizes the school’s outstanding student-athletes, in 1983. She also tied for top individual honors in the San Jose State Lady Spartan Classic in 1982. Her 1983 NCAA Championship team was inducted into the TCU Hall of Fame in October 2000.
“I love coaching because it allows me to combine my competitive experience and professional golf experience into one job,” Kelly says. “All of my different experiences in golf help me to assist team members in whatever situation they might encounter.”
At UNC Greensboro, Kelly was named the 1997 Big South Conference Coach of the Year after the team won two tournaments. She coached UNCG’s Becky Morgan to five individual tournament titles and second-team All-America standing on the year and, under Kelly’s tutelage, Morgan finished 10th individually at the 1997 NCAA Championships and also earned GTE Academic All-America honors.
Since Kelly arrived in 1997, the team has continued to show steady improvement and progress every year, culminating with the best season in program history in 2012. She has coached the Buffs to 11 tournament wins and 42 second or third-place finishes. In 2012, the Buffs took a momentous step forward, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the first time, while also earning a nod to NCAA Regionals for the third time in program history, all happening in six seasons.
In 2012, the Buffs won three tournaments while playing the toughest slate in program history with all 12 events having a top 50 rank for strength of competition from Golfweek, with most earning a top 30 nod.
CU hosted the NCAA Regionals at Colorado National Golf Club and earned a trip to its own site after breaking into the top 10 for the first time in program history. CU was the No. 4 seed and looking to advance to the finals for the first time (eight teams from each site go). The Buffs struggled the first two days, but then put together one of the best team rounds in CU history, collectively shooting a 9-under par to jump from ninth to fourth the final day and advance.
In 2014-15, the team recorded a program-best 5th place finish at the Pac-12 Championships at Boulder Country Club and also earned a second straight invitation to the NCAA Regional. Kelly then helped the Buffs tie their record with another fifth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships during the 2015-16 season en route to a third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, where Colorado finished just one stroke short of advancing to the NCAA Championships. The 2017-18 season saw the Buffs qualify for their second straight NCAA Championship after placing sixth at the Pac-12 and regional championship.
The program has seen individual players excel both on the course and in the classroom.
During the 2015-16 season, Esther Lee became the first two-time All-American in program history as she was named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-America Second Team for a second straight year. Lee was also named a Golfweek Third Team All-American each of the last two years in addition to becoming the first golfer to earn All-Pac-12 First Team Honors twice, both in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The Buffs saw their best conference finish during the 2016-17 season, finishing second overall. Lee put together a record-breaking performance at the first tournament of the fall season. She tied an NCAA record after shooting a 61 in the first round of New Mexico’s Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invitational and went on to earn All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Kelly saw two freshman standouts during the 2016-17 season with Robyn Choi and Kirsty Hodgkins. Hodgkins also earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors and Choi competed at the 2017 and ‘18 U.S. Open.
The Buffs have had numerous players earn 76 Academic Conference honors during Kelly’s tenure in the Big 12 and Pac-12 Conferences. CU has had at least one player being named to the prestigious WGCA All-America Scholars team 10 of the last 12 seasons, beginning with Jamie Befort in 2010, Taylor Doyle and Jessica Wallace in 2011 and continuing with Wallace and Alex Stewart in 2012, Megan Haase and Allie Zech in 2013, Brittany Fan in 2015, Alexis Keating in 2016 and Robyn Choi in 2017. Elle Otten earned the honor in 2019, while Alisha Lau and Kelsey Webster were named to the team in 2020. Lau, along with teammate Ellie Gower, were named to the team in 2021. Former Buff Maria Persson-Gulda was named to that team three times and was also honored with an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. She was honored as CU’s top female student-athlete academically in 2006, an honor former Buff Jamie Befort racked up twice.
Erin Kerr was the first Buff to qualify for an NCAA Regional post-season bid in 2001 and that was followed up with another invitation in 2002. Hannah Hoch became a two-time tournament winner in 2004-05 and broke many school records. She also became the first player in CU history to be named All-Big 12 second team that year as well. In 2012, Emily Talley and Jessica Wallace were both named first-team All-Big 12, the first two players to earn that honor, and each were named twice as the Big 12 Golfer of the Month over their final two seasons. Wallace won CU’s only Big 12 individual honor, named the Newcomer of the Year in 2012, as well. In 2014, Wallace would become the first player in program history to successfully qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.
In 2012, Talley became CU’s first All-American, earning honorable mention from both the coaches (Golfstat) and Golfweek. Stewart joined Talley on the Golfweek poll as both were also given the distinction of being named to the All-Pac-12 team along with Wallace. Talley also joined Wallace on the Symetra Tour and appeared on two seasons of Golf Channel’s Big Break, winning the 2013 NFL season in Puerto Rico with teammates Jerry Rice and Isaac Sanchez.
In 2013, Jenny Coleman received an individual invitation to the NCAA Regionals, where she finished with a 72-79-71—222 scorecard – the then fifth-best score by a Buff in the postseason. The following season, Coleman, an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, helped the Buffs to the 2014 NCAA Regionals, marking a record-setting fourth straight year that CU sent the team or an individual to regionals. Coleman graduated in 2014 and then became the second Buff to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2015.
The 2018-19 season saw Choi qualify for the LPGA Tour. After playing the fall with the Buffs, she turned pro, becoming the first CU female to leave early to pursue a professional career. During the spring of 2019, Hodgkins advanced to the NCAA East Lansing Regional for the third time in her career.
The 2019-20 season was atypical and was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. Hodgkins was awarded an additional year of eligibility and that summer won the CGA Women’s Match Play Championship against Kerr. Hodgkins was also selected to compete at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and advanced to match play before returning to CU for her final season of eligibility.
Born May 15, 1961, in Aspen, Colo., Kelly graduated from TCU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business communications. She prepped at Santa Rita High School in Tucson, Ariz.
