Anne Walker was named the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf in 2012 and quickly established herself as one of the premier college coaches in the country. Walker has a National Championship pedigree, having led the Cardinal to the program's first NCAA title in 2014-15.
The Cardinal has qualified for NCAA Championships in all seven possible seasons under Walker, including four appearances in the national semifinals. Stanford is one of two program's nationally to have made NCAA Match Play quarterfinals in all five seasons of the current format.
Under Walker, Stanford has enjoyed unprecedented success. The program has captured 21 full-field victories and has produced 20 All-Americans. Stanford has had at least one first-team All-American in all eight seasons under Walker, while multiple Cardinal have been named All-Americans in seven straight seasons.
Despite the 2019-20 season being cut short due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Walker's Cardinal finished the season at No. 9 in Golfweek's final rankings. It was the fifth straight season Stanford has finished in the Top 10, while the Cardinal has finished no worse than 11th in the final rankings under Walker.
Andrea Lee set the program's all-time career wins mark with her ninth victory to begin the season at The Molly Intercollegiate, while the Cardinal claimed a 26-shot victory at the event. Freshman Angelina Ye won the Stanford Intercollegiate the next time out, leading the Cardinal to a second-place finish despite missing its top two seniors - Lee and Albane Valenzuela - to LPGA Q-Series.
Lee and Valenzuela turned pro in November 2019, joining fellow Cardinal Mariah Stackhouse, Lauren Kim and Casey Danielson on the professional circuit.
Despite all that, Ye and sophomore Aline Krauter paced the Cardinal, as both earned All-America recognition at the end of the season.
In 2018-19, Stanford advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 10th consecutive season and qualified for NCAA Match Play for the fifth straight season since the format began at the 2015 NCAA Championships. The Cardinal posted two wins (Northrop Grumann Regional Challenge, Bruin Wave Invitational) in addition to two second-place finishes and nine top five results. Stanford did not finish below seventh in any tournament the entire season.
Walker's seventh season saw much individual success, as well, as three student-athletes earned All-America and All-Pac-12 recognition, Valenzuela earned Pac-12 Women's Golfer of the Year honors - the first in program history to earn that distinction - and Lee earned the McCormack Medal, given to the world's top amateur each year. Valenzuela and Lee were first team WGCA All-Americans and first team All-Pac-12, while Krauter was named honorable mention WGCA All-America and honorable mention All-Pac-12. Most importantly, five student-athletes were recognized on the Pac-12 All-Academic teams and Valenzuela was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. The program was also recognized by the NCAA with a perfect APR.
In 2017-18, Stanford finished third or better in each of its events on the season. The Cardinal made its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, advancing to the match-play portion of the event for a record fourth straight year. Stanford won its first match before falling in the semifinals to eventual national champion Arizona.
The Cardinal won the NCAA San Francisco Regional at TPC Harding Park by six strokes over top-ranked UCLA. It was the third straight - and fourth overall - regional title in school history.
Shannon Aubert made her fourth NCAA Championships appearance, making her the only player in NCAA history to compete in match play four times. Lee collected three wins on the season, bringing her career total to six. Through two seasons, she was two wins shy of the school record set by Mhairi McKay (1994-97). Lee's 70.73 stroke average ranked first all-time among Cardinal sophomores, Valenzuela (72.25) was fourth and Ziyi Wang (73.03) was fifth. Mika Liu's 72.54 scoring average was seventh-best by a Cardinal freshman in program history. Lee's stroke average ranked fourth nationally by GolfStat, followed by Liu (25th), Valenzuela (29th) and Wang (63rd).
Lee shot a course-record tying 7-under 65 in her fourth round at Karsten Creek Golf Club to tie for second overall at the NCAA Championships, the highest individual finish for a Stanford golfer over the past two decades (since 1990).
In 2016-17, Walker's squad was ranked No. 1 in the country for most of the season. Stanford won a program record five tournaments, including the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. In the NCAA Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, the Cardinal qualified for match play and rallied for a 3-2 quarterfinal win against Baylor. Stanford surged to a 2-1 lead in the semifinals against Arizona State and had late leads in the final two matches, but couldn't hold on, falling 3-2 to the eventual champs.
At the Silverado Showdown in Napa, California, the Cardinal established school records for lowest 18-hole total (-12) and lowest 54-hole total on a par-72 course (-16). In the second round, all five players broke par, another first.
In 11 full field starts, Stanford finished outside the top three only once.
Lee won three individual titles and was named the PING/WGCA National Freshman of the Year, a first for the Cardinal, and was a finalist for National Player of the Year and the Honda Sport Award for Golf. She was a PING/WGCA first team All-American, while senior Casey Danielson and freshman Valenzuela were PING/WGCA second team All-Americans. All three were selected to the All-Pac-12 first team.
Danielson became the first Stanford player to receive the Dinah Shore Trophy Award presented to the nation's top collegiate player for performance, academics and community service.
Danielson and Valenzuela were chosen to the WGCA All-American Scholar Team.
In 2015-16, Walker's team came within a putt of repeating, advancing to the finals of the NCAA Championships at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, falling 3-2 to Washington. Senior All-Americans Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim rallied to lift the Cardinal into a 2-2 tie, Stackhouse prevailing on the second hole of sudden death. In the final match, Kim captured the last three holes to force sudden death but succumbed on the second playoff hole.
Stanford qualified by tying for first with top-ranked USC in the NCAA Stanford Regional at Stanford Golf Course, marking only the second regional title in program history (2007). At the NCAA Championships, the Cardinal finished second in the 72-hole medal qualifying to earn one of eight match play berths. Stanford closed with a 9-under par score of 279, the lowest of the championship.
The Cardinal earned hard-fought 3-2 quarterfinal and semifinals victories against South Carolina and Duke, respectively, to reach the finals.
Stanford won four tournaments during the season, placed in the top 10 in every event and was ranked No. 5 by Golfstat in the final rankings.
Kim was chosen a WGCA first All-America for the third-consecutive year, becoming the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat. She was also named the Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Stackhouse was selected a second team WGCA All-America,marking the fourth-straight year she received the distinction. Kim and Stackhouse earned first team Pac-12 All-Conference recognition, the latter becoming the first player in program history to make the first unit four years in a row.
Kim averaged a team-best of 71.87, fourth-best in the country. She finished with five top 10s and placed in the top 20 in all but one event. Stackhouse averaged 72.33 and ranked No. 23 in the nation. She recorded four top 10s and was 5-1 in NCAA match play competition her last two years.
In 2014-15, Stanford qualified for the NCAA Championships for the 30th time, beating 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, 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 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 for 18th 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.
A native of Lanarkshire, Scotland, 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 was named a WGCA All-American Scholar three times. In 2013, she was inducted into the California Athletics Hall of Fame.
Walker is married to Chris Gundling and has two daughters.
