Mizzou Men’s Golf’s Grant Milner Elevated to Associate Head Coach
9/12/2019 2:07:00 PM | Men's Golf
Grant enters his fifth season on the Mizzou Men’s Golf staff
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men's Golf head coach Mark Leroux announced the promotion of Grant Milner to Associate Head Coach on Thursday.
Milner, who is entering his fifth season with the Tigers, spent the first four years as the program's assistant coach.
"Grant has been an invaluable asset for this program throughout the past four seasons of Mizzou Golf," Leroux said. "He is one of the hardest working people I know. He delivers a wealth of high-level golf experience while consistently pouring in high character, dedication and passion into our program. We are thrilled for the future of Mizzou Golf and know Grant will continue to serve as a tremendous leader and mentor to our student-athletes for years to come."
Milner has helped propel the Mizzou Men's Golf team to new heights since he joined the coaching staff prior to the start of the 2015-16 season. The Tigers returned to the NCAA Men's Golf Regionals in 2017, finishing eighth overall at the College Grove Regional in Tennessee. From 2015-17, Mizzou won six total tournament titles.
"I'm honored to be named Associate Head Coach of the Mizzou Men's Golf program," Milner said. "I want to thank Coach Leroux for the opportunity, and for his guidance and support since I came to Mizzou in 2015. Coach Leroux has been instrumental to my development as a coach, and I will always be grateful to him for bringing me to Mizzou. It is an honor to serve our players and this University on a daily basis."
Mizzou's solid campaign last season came after a senior-laden group secured the program's 14th overall NCAA Regional appearance in 2017-18, led by phenom Hayden Buckley, who brought home PING All-American honors and All-SEC recognition at season's end. Buckley, an unheralded recruit with no other power league offers out of high school, flourished under Milner's tutelage during his time in Columbia and helped lead the Tigers to three tournament wins in his final season.
The Conference USA Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2012-13 season, Milner led Memphis to its third-straight NCAA Tournament as a redshirt junior. Milner paced the group with a 73.8 stroke average and recorded five Top 20 and four Top 10 finishes, including a victorious performance at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.
Milner helped lead Memphis to the NCAA Championship Finals as a redshirt sophomore, with the squad placing 28th nationally to conclude the 2011-12 campaign. Memphis also claimed the Conference USA team championship.
A long-time presence on the amateur circuit in his youth, Milner was named the Knoxville Sentinel's 2008 Player of the Year. He additionally was rated at the 79th best player in the country by the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, native graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast News in Dec. 2013. After graduation, Milner began work in the media with GoTigers247.com, the 247Sports Network's affiliate covering Memphis Athletics.
The 2019-20 Mizzou Men's Golf season rolls on when the Tigers travel northeast in two weeks to compete in the Inverness Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Toledo at Inverness Golf Club, Sept. 23-24. Mizzou snagged a second-place finish at its season-opening competition, the 2019 Turning Stone-Tiger Intercollegiate, in upstate New York over Labor Day weekend.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Golf, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team at @MizzouMensGolf (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
