Margaret Shirley Named Women's Golf Assistant Coach - AuburnTigers.com

Margaret Shirley Named Women's Golf Assistant Coach Shirley returns to her alma mater after two years at Georgia

Margaret Shirley

July 14, 2011

AUBURN - Former Tiger and All-SEC standout Margaret Shirley has been named assistant coach for the Auburn women's golf team, head coach Kim Evans announced Thursday.

"I could not be more excited to come back to Auburn," said Shirley. "I love this place, loved my time here as a student-athlete and to be able to come back as a coach is something special. I am thrilled with the opportunity to come back with the Auburn family."

Shirley, a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection from 2005-08 at Auburn, has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia.

"Margaret feels like she has come home, and I am excited to bring her home," said Evans. "She has a few years of experience with a very good program at Georgia. She has a lot of playing experience over the last few years as well. She was definitely the most qualified for the job."

While at Georgia she helped coach the Bulldogs to two NCAA Regional appearances and a fourth-place finish at the SEC championship in 2010. She also coached Marta Silva Zamora, who was named the NGCA and GolfWeek National Player of the Year in 2011. Silva Zamora also went on to win the Honda Award, the top award for women's golf.

Prior to beginning her coaching career, the Roswell, Ga., native spent the 2008-09 season playing professionally on the Florida Suncoast Series. She posted two wins and finished as the tour's leading money winner for the season.

Since that time, Shirley has re-gained her amateur status and continued her playing career. She has twice won the Georgia Women's Open and recently won the Georgia Women's Match Play Championship.

Shirley played at Auburn from 2004-08 and finished her career as one of just seven Tigers to compete in four straight NCAA Championships. Along with her three All-SEC selections, she was also a three-time honoree on the SEC Community Service Team.

Auburn notched back-to-back SEC Championships during her freshman and sophomore seasons. The Tigers also tallied 11 tournament titles and 24 top-three finishes. Individually, she placed third at SECs in 2006 and fourth in 2008.

On her career, she recorded eight top-10 tournament finishes and 14 top-20 finishes, including runner-up honors at the 2005 Lady Puerto Rico Classic.

Shirley received her bachelor's degree in Communications with a minor in Sport Coaching from Auburn in 2008.