Kim Evans, head coach of the No. 3 Auburn Women's Golf team, continues to inspire athletes in her 16th year at Auburn.
Evans, who graduated from Auburn in 1981 and lettered in golf from 1978-81, said she "bleeds orange and blue." Before returning to The Plains, Evans was an assistant coach for the Georgia Tech Men's Golf team from 1988-94 and was the assistant executive director of the Atlanta Junior Golf Association. "She's amazing," said junior Patricia Sanz. "She's tough when she needs to be and she is there for you all the time. If you ever have a problem, not only golf but anything, she's always there for you."
The 2002 NGCA National Coach of the Year has led the Tigers to six SEC Championships and nine consecutive NCAA Championship appearances.
Evan said her favorite part of coaching is forming relationships with the unique individuals she coaches and their families and watching them succeed. Sunday the Tigers hosted and won the Auburn Invitational at the Auburn University Club and hosted Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt.
Margaret Shirley, Georgia's assistant coach, is a 2008 graduate of Auburn and one of Evan's former players.
"It was fun (to coach against Shirley)," Evans said. "I'm just so proud of her that she has moved on in the coaching ranks. It's a lot of fun to see her and make fun and for her to make fun of me." Shirley said she and her teammates used to play a lot of pranks on Evans and always had a good time.
"The greatest thing about Coach Evans is that she cares so much for her players," Shirley said. "She certainly wants you to succeed on the golf course but more importantly she wants you to succeed in everything you do."
Evans caring and playful relationship with her current and former players is all part of her standout coaching abilities.
"She has to be tough with us sometimes but I like that." Sanz said. "That's a coach." Evans was recognized by the Dixie Section of Professional Golfer's Association with the Horton Smith Award in
2009. The Horton Smith
Award acknowledges a PGA member for contributions in developing educational opportunities for the PGA golf professional. "Golf is kind of that great sportsmanship," Evans said. "It's part of the game and the tradition of the game." Evans shares her experiences and skills with all of her players. "(Evans is) pretty down to Earth," said junior Cydeny Clanton. "She makes it fun. She lets us be on our own, which is always nice because golf is individual sometimes. You have to do what you have to do to get your own work done." Evans earned her PGA Class A
Status when she worked as a golf professional at Sandestin Resort in Destin, Fla., after graduating from Auburn.
Although Evans rarely golfs now, she said she enjoys spreading her love and knowledge of the game of golf and impacting the lives of all of the players she coaches.
"I couldn't have asked for a better coach to play for. I feel very blessed to have learned from her and her leadership," Shirley said. "I hope that I will be able to accomplish half of what she has in the coaching world."
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