Buddy Alexander
Encyclopedia
Stewart Murray "Buddy" Alexander (born February 20, 1953) is an American college golf
coach and former amateur golfer. Alexander is the current head coach
of the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida
. He is best known for coaching the Gators to National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I tournament championships in 1993 and 2001.
, Alexander was recognized as an All-American in 1974 and 1975. After his graduation from Georgia Southern, he continued to play competitive golf as an amateur, and notably won the 1976 Azalea Invitational
, the 1977 Eastern Amateur
, and the 1986 U.S. Amateur Championship. He was a member of the 1986 Eisenhower Trophy
team and the 1987 U.S. Walker Cup
team.
Alexander's Gators teams have won two National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) tournament championships in 1993 and 2001. During the 2001 NCAA tournament, Alexander also coached team captain Nick Gilliam to an individual NCAA golf championship, only the second in the history of the Gators golf program. His teams have also won eight Southeastern Conference
(SEC) team championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2011), and his players have won eight SEC individual titles, in his twenty-two seasons as the Gators' coach.
Alexander previously coached the men's and women's golf teams at Louisiana State University
(LSU) from 1983 to 1987, and the men's golf team at Georgia Southern University
from 1977 to 1980. Alexander became the head golf coach at his alma mater, Georgia Southern, in 1977, only two years after his graduation. As the head men's and women's golf coach at LSU, Alexander's teams won two SEC team titles (1986, 1987), and his LSU players won two SEC individual titles.
In twenty-eight years as a head coach, Alexander's teams have finished among the top ten in the NCAA tournament fifteen times. His teams have amassed seventy-two tournament victories, and thirty-one of his players have earned All-American honors. The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) has honored him as its National Coach of the Year three times (1993, 2001 and 2004), and the GCAA inducted him into its Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001, joining former Gators coach Buster Bishop
. The SEC has recognized him seven times as its Coach of the Year (1986, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004). As of 2010, Alexander has coached thirty-three future professional golfers as collegians, including eighteen at Florida.
In 2005, Alexander was selected to coach the U.S. national amateur team in Palmer Cup
competition.
In 2010, Alexander's Gator golfers finished second of twelve teams in the SEC championship tournament in Sea Island, Georgia
, and eleventh of thirty invited teams at the NCAA Tournament in Ooltewah, Tennessee
.
. He graduated from Georgia Southern University with bachelor's degree
in recreation in 1975, and again with a master's degree
in educational administration in 1980. His father, Skip Alexander, was a former Duke University
golf stand-out and PGA Tour
player. Alexander's current wife, Joan, is a media official for the PGA Tour. Alexander and his first wife, Jane, have a daughter, Cortnee, and a son, Tyson. Tyson played for his father's Gators golf from 2006 to 2010, and qualified for the U.S. Open, like his father and grandfather before him, in 2009. Tyson turned pro in 2010.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
coach and former amateur golfer. Alexander is the current head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. He is best known for coaching the Gators to National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division I tournament championships in 1993 and 2001.
Playing career
During his collegiate playing career at Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University is a national public university located on a campus in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1906, it is part of the University System of Georgia and is the largest center of higher education in the southern half of Georgia offering 117 academic majors in a comprehensive...
, Alexander was recognized as an All-American in 1974 and 1975. After his graduation from Georgia Southern, he continued to play competitive golf as an amateur, and notably won the 1976 Azalea Invitational
Azalea Invitational
The Azalea Invitational is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1946 at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.-Winners:*2011 Cheng-Tsung Pan*2010 Tyson Alexander*2009 Tyson Alexander*2008 Zack Sucher...
, the 1977 Eastern Amateur
Eastern Amateur
The Eastern Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played at Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club in Portsmouth, Virginia since 1957; the only exceptions were in 1977 when it was played at Sleepy Hole Golf Course in Suffolk, Virginia and in 1999 when it was played at nearby...
, and the 1986 U.S. Amateur Championship. He was a member of the 1986 Eisenhower Trophy
Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. It is named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the President of the United States when the tournament was first played, who was a keen amateur golfer. Recent tournaments have...
team and the 1987 U.S. Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
team.
Coaching career
Alexander has served as the head coach of the Florida Gators men's golf team since January 1988.Alexander's Gators teams have won two National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) tournament championships in 1993 and 2001. During the 2001 NCAA tournament, Alexander also coached team captain Nick Gilliam to an individual NCAA golf championship, only the second in the history of the Gators golf program. His teams have also won eight Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) team championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2011), and his players have won eight SEC individual titles, in his twenty-two seasons as the Gators' coach.
Alexander previously coached the men's and women's golf teams at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
(LSU) from 1983 to 1987, and the men's golf team at Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University is a national public university located on a campus in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1906, it is part of the University System of Georgia and is the largest center of higher education in the southern half of Georgia offering 117 academic majors in a comprehensive...
from 1977 to 1980. Alexander became the head golf coach at his alma mater, Georgia Southern, in 1977, only two years after his graduation. As the head men's and women's golf coach at LSU, Alexander's teams won two SEC team titles (1986, 1987), and his LSU players won two SEC individual titles.
In twenty-eight years as a head coach, Alexander's teams have finished among the top ten in the NCAA tournament fifteen times. His teams have amassed seventy-two tournament victories, and thirty-one of his players have earned All-American honors. The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) has honored him as its National Coach of the Year three times (1993, 2001 and 2004), and the GCAA inducted him into its Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001, joining former Gators coach Buster Bishop
Buster Bishop
Bernays Emery "Buster" Bishop was an American college golf coach. Bishop was best known for leading the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I championships in 1968 and 1973.- Early life and education :Bishop was born in...
. The SEC has recognized him seven times as its Coach of the Year (1986, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004). As of 2010, Alexander has coached thirty-three future professional golfers as collegians, including eighteen at Florida.
In 2005, Alexander was selected to coach the U.S. national amateur team in Palmer Cup
Palmer Cup
The Palmer Cup is an annual eight man team golf competition between American college golfers and European college/university golfers. It is named after Arnold Palmer. The teams are selected on the basis of nationality, not according to the location of the players' universities...
competition.
In 2010, Alexander's Gator golfers finished second of twelve teams in the SEC championship tournament in Sea Island, Georgia
Sea Island, Georgia
Sea Island is an affluent resort island located in the barrier islands just off the Atlantic coast of southern Georgia in the United States. The resort complex is located in an unincorporated Glynn County....
, and eleventh of thirty invited teams at the NCAA Tournament in Ooltewah, Tennessee
Ooltewah, Tennessee
Ooltewah is a census-designated place in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 687 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
.
Personal
Alexander was born in St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. He graduated from Georgia Southern University with bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in recreation in 1975, and again with a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in educational administration in 1980. His father, Skip Alexander, was a former Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
golf stand-out and PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
player. Alexander's current wife, Joan, is a media official for the PGA Tour. Alexander and his first wife, Jane, have a daughter, Cortnee, and a son, Tyson. Tyson played for his father's Gators golf from 2006 to 2010, and qualified for the U.S. Open, like his father and grandfather before him, in 2009. Tyson turned pro in 2010.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- History of the University of FloridaHistory of the University of FloridaThe history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- Jan DowlingJan DowlingJan Dowling is a Canadian-born American college golf coach and former amateur golfer. Dowling is the current head coach of the Florida Gators women's golf team of the University of Florida.- Early life and education :...
- List of Georgia Southern University alumni
- Mark Bostick Golf Course
- University Athletic AssociationUniversity of Florida Athletic AssociationThe University Athletic Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...
External links
- GatorSports.com – Gators sports page of The Gainesville Sun.
- GatorZone.com – Official website of the Florida Gators.
- SECSports.com – Official website of the Southeastern Conference.
- University Athletic Association – Official website of University Athletic Association.
- University of Florida – Official website of the University of Florida.