Guthrie leaves Illini to caddy, coach brother
By: Aaron Bennett
Updated: November 28, 2012
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.
(UI Release) - University of Illinois men's golf head coach Mike Small announced
Wednesday the departure of associate head coach Zach Guthrie at the end
of the Fall 2012 semester. Guthrie leaves
the Illini to serve as caddy and coach for his brother, Luke, a former
Illinois All-American and two-time Big Ten champion who recently earned
his PGA Tour card for 2013.
"Zach has done a
great job during his time here at Illinois and he will be missed," Small
said. "The goal for our program is to be involved at the highest level
in golf and Zach will be able to do that
as he caddies for Luke. We're excited for Zach as he continues to build
his career in the game of golf and wish both he and Luke well in this
endeavor."
Zach Guthrie had
begun his sixth season on the Illini coaching staff in the fall of 2012
after helping Illinois become one of only six schools in the nation to
qualify for the NCAA Championships in each
of the last five years. The Illini have won four consecutive Big Ten
championships and 23 total tournaments in that span. Guthrie also has
helped coach two individual NCAA champions (Thomas Pieters, 2012; Scott
Langley, 2010), four All-Americans (Pieters, 2012;
Luke Guthrie and Chris DeForest, 2011; Langley, 2010) and a two-time Big
Ten individual champion in his brother, Luke, in 2011 and 2012.
"Obviously, as
Luke's brother, I am unbelievably proud that he has earned his PGA Tour
card," Zach Guthrie said. "But also as Luke's college coach, I'm proud
on a different level that one of our players
has advanced to the highest level so soon after completing his
collegiate career. This definitely speaks to the strength of the
Illinois golf program. That is what makes my decision to leave a little
bittersweet because I feel so good about everything we do
here and I believe that the future is bright. But the time is right and
I could not be more excited to be joining Luke next year. I would also
like to take this opportunity to thank head coach Mike Small, the entire
DIA administration and staff, and all of
the players I have been around. It has been a privilege to work at the
University of Illinois."
As Illinois'
assistant coach, Guthrie also has served as director of the Demirjian
Indoor Golf Facility, coordinator of the Steve Stricker Illini Classic
and liaison to the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini
Invitational.
Guthrie graduated
summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a bachelor of
business degree in economics. He was named to the ESPN the Magazine
Academic All-District team, was selected a Golf
Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar and earned three
All-Mid-Continent Conference Academic honors. In addition, Guthrie
earned the team's Senior Leadership Award in 2007.
On the course,
Guthrie was a key contributor to one of the most successful stretches in
WIU golf history. During his collegiate playing career, he helped WIU
qualify for NCAA postseason play three times
as well as claim three Mid-Continent Conference Championships. He was
co-medalist at the 2005 Pizza Hut/Bell South Invitational and fired a
career-best round of 68 at the Beu/Mussatto Classic that season.
