Former Coach O.D. Vincent Named to GCAA Hall of Fame

O.D. Vincent, who coached the UCLA men’s golf team from 2002-07, will be inducted into the Golf Coaches Assn. of America Hall of Fame in December, the GCAA announced Wednesday.

In 12 seasons as Head Men’s Golf Coach at Washington, UCLA, and Duke, Vincent coached 30 individual medalists, 35 team champions, 11 PING All-Americans and four Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars. He also guided his teams to two conference championship, a pair of NCAA Regional titles and five NCAA top-10 team finishes. His teams qualified for the NCAA Championship in all 12 seasons he coached, and recorded five top-10 finishes.

He was named conference coach of the year three times, was twice honored as the NCAA District Coach of the Year, and received the 1999 Dave Williams Award presented by Eaton Golf Pride as national coach of the year. He served as the International Team coach for the 2004 USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championships and the 2006 USA China Friendship Cup.

During his tenure, Vincent was instrumental in the development of two practice facilities, created three team support groups, and started six different collegiate events. Vincent served on the GCAA All-America committee and continues to serve on the Byron Nelson Award committee. He remains the only golfer in Pac-12 history to win medalist honors as a player and later earn the league’s coach of the year honors.

Vincent joins former UCLA men’s golf coaches Vic Kelley (1948-75) and Eddie Merrins (1975-89) in the GCAA Hall of Fame. Kelley also served GCAA president for six years and was one of the founding members of the organization.

Vincent, 46, is currently the Executive Director of the PGA TOUR’s Northern Trust Open.