Melissa McNamara, former LPGA player and coach at University of Tulsa, became the sixth head coach of the ASU women's golf program in July. Her mother, Dale, was Tulsa's former coach and was also former Sun Devil great Linda Vollstedt's mentor when Linda began coaching.

"We see this as a great opportunity to be in the No. 1 coach's job in the country," said Melissa.

She spent the last two seasons at her alma mater, TU, after a four-time All-American career with the Golden Hurricane. She succeeded her mother after a 26-year career that saw TU win four national championships.

She led the Hurricane to seven tournament titles in her two seasons, including back-to-back WAC and NCAA Central Region championships. One of those titles occurred at the 2002 Ping/ASU Champion-ship at Karsten Golf Course. It helped her and her team earn a No. 3 national ranking for most of the season. It finished 12th at the NCAAs.

"We all are very excited about Melissa coming to ASU," said Vollstedt, a five-time national coach of the year who led her team to six NCAA titles. "She was a great college player, and she is a great coach. Her mother is the First Lady of women's college golf, and a pioneer among women coaches.

"She passed that championship legacy onto her daughter, Melissa. Dale was my mentor when I first started coaching, and it will be fun to be Melissa's mentor."

McNamara said she can do great things at ASU.

"The opportunities for a coach and a player are unmatched at ASU," she said. "It's all very exciting."

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