Skip to main content

The Official Website of the Golf Coaches Association of America

 
   

JR

Gregory to Coach U.S. Palmer Cup Team

NORMAN, Okla. – Josh Gregory of SMU has been named the United States Coach for the 2012 Palmer Cup at The Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. The annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played June 28-30. Christian Newton of Georgia Tech - recipient of the 2011 Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf (national assistant coach of the year) - will serve as Gregory’s assistant coach.

Josh Gregory, the 2010 and 2011 Dave Williams Award presented by Eaton Golf Pride as National Coach of the Year honoree, is in his first year at SMU. Gregory arrived on the Hilltop after leading Augusta State to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2010 and 2011.

Over his first nine seasons Gregory produced 11 PING All-America selections, five Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars, 16 PING All-South Region picks and 10 NCAA All-Independent selections along, with six Palmer Cup team selections, two Walker Cup selections and a Ryder Cup selection. Under Gregory’s leadership, ASU claimed 18 tournament titles while advancing to eight NCAA Regionals and five NCAA Championships. With back-to-back NCAA titles, Gregory’s Jaguars became the first team to win back-to-back titles since Houston in 1984-85.

Prior to his time with the Jags, Gregory spent two successful years as the men’s and women’s assistant coach at NC State. He was involved in every aspect of both programs, including individual and group instruction, recruiting, fundraising and practice preparation. NC State posted its best finish in school history with a sixth-place showing at the 2002 NCAA Championships. The Wolfpack also finished second at the ACC Championship and had two All-ACC picks. The program produced a 2002 Palmer Cup invitee and finished ranked sixth in the nation.

An accomplished player in his own right, Gregory regained his amateur status in 2004 and has made the most of the move. He put together an impressive run in the summer of 2008 which included a third-place finish in the Palmetto Amateur, a fourth-place effort in the Georgia State Amateur at Idle Hour Club in Macon, Ga., and an eighth-place showing in the Oglethorpe Invitational in Savannah, Ga. In June, he lost out in a nine-player-for-one-spot playoff in the U.S. Open sectionals in Memphis, Tenn. Gregory also advanced to the third round of the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Milwaukee, Wis., winning two match-play matches before falling in the Round of 16. In 2009, he advanced to the U.S. Public Links round of 32 and qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

Gregory spent two-and-a-half years as a touring professional on various circuits, including the NGA Hooters, TearDrop and Developmental Players and earned conditional status on the Canadian PGA Tour. During that time, he earned three top-10 finishes on the TearDrop Tour and posted five top-five finishes, including two runner-up showings, on the Developmental Players Tour.

A four-year letterman and three-time NCAA Championship participant on the Hilltop, Gregory earned a B.A. in corporate communications and public affairs and a B.A. in psychology from SMU in 1997. As a senior, Gregory was named a team co-captain and also served on the SMU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Gregory is married to the former Ashley Hardy of Augusta, Ga., and the couple has one son, James.

The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 8-6-1 and has won two straight.