KELLEY HESTER WILL BE NEW GEORGIA COACH WAITING TO WELCOME
KRYSTLE CAITHNESS

The University of Georgia head women's golf coach who will welcome new recruit Krystle Caithness when she starts a four-year golf scholarship in the autumn will not be the one who signed her up.
Instead of Todd McCorkle, who resigned three days before the NCAA regional tournaments in May, amid accusations of sexual and verbal harassment of the team players, it will be Kelley Hester, pictured right, a star player for Georgia in the 1990s and now returning to take charge. She led Arkansas to the NCAA regionals this past spring.
Hester was a three-time All-SEC selection for the Bulldogs (1994-95-96) as the former Kelley Richardson. In five seasons at Arkansas, Hester led the Lady Razorbacks to their best team and individual finishes in school history.
Arkansas posted its first top-10 finish at the NCAA Championship in 2006, and Stacy Lewis captured individual medalist honors at the 2007 NCAA championship.
“It’s hard for me to put into words how much this opportunity means to me,” said Hester, who served as president of the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) in 2006-07.
“The University of Georgia has given me so much, and I’m excited about the opportunity to come home and give back. Not many people have the chance to return to their alma mater and lead such a storied program.
"In my mind, there’s nothing better than being a Bulldog.”
A native of Macon, Georgia, Hester was a member of Georgia teams which captured 1993 and 1994 SEC Championships and finished fourth at the 1993 NCAA Championships.
She posted 21 top-20 individual finishes in 40 events played from 1993-96. Hester also was a stand-out off the golf course. She was named to the NGCA’s All-Scholar team in 1995 and ’96. As a senior at UGA, Hester served as the female student-athlete representative to the University of Georgia’s Athletic Board and also was president of UGA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
“We’re extremely happy to have Kelley returning to Athens,” said University of Georgia athletic director Damon Evans.

“She has an impressive record as a coach and is widely respected as a leader in collegiate women’s golf. Equally important, Kelley has a unique grasp of what makes the University of Georgia so special with her experiences both as a student-athlete and coach.”
Hester played professionally on the Futures Tour for two years (1996-97) and worked as an assistant pro at Idle Hour Club in Macon before entering the collegiate coaching ranks. She was the head coach at Mercer for one season in 1998 and then returned to Athens as assistant coach for the Bulldogs in February 1999.
In January 2001, Hester was named the first head coach for the UNLV women’s golf program. While with the Rebels, she brought in two highly-touted recruiting classes and led them to the NCAAs in their second season of competition.
Hester was named Arkansas’ head coach in the summer of 2002. Under Hester, Arkansas recorded five tournament wins, 13 individual crowns and earned NCAA bids in each of her five campaigns at the helm.
Hester graduated cum laude from UGA with a degree in journalism in 1995 and received her master’s in sport management from Arkansas in 2005. She is an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional member as well.
Hester and her husband, Trey, welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth “Bebe,” in March.
Krystle Caithness will be in good hands in the States.