Anne Walker was named the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf in 2012, quickly establishing herself as one of the top college coaches in the country. She has guided the Cardinal to three consecutive NCAA Championship berths, and captured the first national title in program history during the 2014-15 season.
Making its 30th appearance, Stanford beat Baylor 3-2 in the first-ever match play format final for women, shown live on the Golf Channel, at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. In the deciding match, junior All-America Mariah Stackhouse won the last two holes against Haley Davis to force sudden death, then parred the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to clinch the crown.
Stanford defeated Pac-12 rivals Arizona and top-ranked USC to reach the finals.
Walker became only the fifth coach to claim an NCAA title at Stanford in three or fewer years. She was named WGCA National Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
It marked only the ninth time in NCAA Division I history that a men's and women's program from the same school have won national titles in the same sport.
Walker helped Lauren Kim (first team) and Stackhouse (honorable mention) secure WGCA All-America honors for the second straight season. Both were named to the All-Pac-12 first team.
The Cardinal battled through injuries to record four top 10 finishes during the season, highlighted by a tie for first in the Stanford Intercollegiate. Kim, Stackhouse, Casey Danielson, Quirine Eijkenboom, Mariko Tumangan were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Team.
In 2013-14, Walker led Stanford to its first Pac-12 Championship title since 1999. Six conference teams were ranked among the top 11 in the nation heading into the tournament, including defending NCAA champion No.1-ranked USC.
The Cardinal produced 12 top 10 finishes on the season and tied for18th at the NCAA Championships.
Kim posted bookend scores of 67 to place third, the best individual finish by a Stanford participant since 2007, when Sally Watson tied for ninth in 2007.
Stackhouse and Kim were named WGCA First Team All-Americans. Kim had seven top 10 finishes in 13 events, and Stackhouse tallied a pair of regular season wins and came in 33rd in the NCAA Championships.
Stackhouse also earned medalist honors at the UC Irvine Invitational, securing an exemption into the LPGA’s Kia Classic. She also sparked the United States to victory during the 2014 Curtis Cup.
During Walker’s inaugural season on The Farm in 2012-13, Stanford recorded its best finish since 2007 at the NCAA Championships by tying for 13th. The Cardinal won the Peg Barnard Invitational, Cal Classic and Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational, the most program wins since early 1980s.
Walker’s team placed fourth in the Pac-12 Championships, its highest showing since 2001. Six players garnered at least one top 10 showings during the regular season, with Stackhouse recording eight.
It was a big season for Stackhouse, a freshman from Riverdale, Georgia. She collected her first collegiate crown at the Peg Barnard Invitational and fired a course and NCAA women’s record 61 (10-under) at Stanford Golf Course to lead her team to victory.
Stackhouse carded two eagles on the front nine, one-putted every green and shot a 9-under 26. She became one of only four collegiate players to shoot 9-under, and none produced a lower nine-hole score than Stackhouse. Her card included eight birdies and two eagles and she won by 10 strokes.
Stackhouse was selected a First-Team All-America, the program’s first since 1994. Watson was named the Pac-12 Conference Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a first for the Cardinal.
Walker came to Stanford from UC Davis after serving as its head women’s golf coach for four years. She took over the program during its transition from Division II to Division I and made an immediate impact. The Aggies won three Big West Conference titles and advanced to a pair of NCAA Championships. Walker also led the team to its first-ever top 20 national ranking.
Walker was a three-time Big West Coach of the Year. In 2009, two of her players qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open. With her guidance, UC Davis produced three Big West Players of the Year and two Big West Freshmen of the Year.
The Aggies won five tournaments and reached a national ranking of 14th during the 2011-12 season.
Walker began her coaching career at her alma mater, California, where she was named assistant coach after earning a geography degree in 2002. She also received a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration.
Walker was named associate head coach at Cal in 2007, then accepted the head coaching job at UC Davis in 2008.
As a student-athlete at Cal, Walker was a three-time captain for the Golden Bears and twice won individual medalist honors. She was the 2002 Pac-10 medal winner and was a three time All-Pac-10 selection. Walker also received NGCA All-America scholar honors three times. In 2013, she was inducted into the California Athletics Hall of Fame.
Walker is married (Chris) and has a daughter (Emma).