Newell Named Assistant Coach for Michigan Women's Golf Program
7/2/2021 1:52:00 PM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan women's golf head coach Jan Dowling announced today (Friday, July 2) the hiring of former LPGA Tour professional and Tennessee collegiate golfer AJ Newell as the new assistant coach for the Wolverines program.
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome A.J. to our Michigan women's golf family," said Dowling. "Obviously, her playing background speaks for itself. However, what really stood out to me was that for two solid decades she has been a keen student of the game.
"In many ways, she was self-taught and took ownership in her development as a golfer at all levels. Because of this, her wealth of knowledge is impressive. She is so eager to share with our team and raise our program to new levels. With her passion and dedication to her craft, as well as years of LPGA Tour playing experience, A.J. was truly born to coach."
No stranger to each other, Dowling and Newell have worked together once before when Newell was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee during the 2012-13 season and Dowling was her assistant coach. The following season, Dowling left to take over the Michigan program.
"Following the ending of my professional career, I knew I wanted to continue to be part of the game I loved and help young golfers continue to develop," said Newell. "When this opportunity to be at the University of Michigan and reunite with Jan presented itself, I knew I had to go after it. I feel so honored and humbled to get this opportunity. I have a deep passion for helping people develop not only as golfers, but as people as well. I hope my experiences collegiately and professionally can help propel this program to new horizons."
During her five-year professional career, Newell made nine starts on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and played 35 events on the Symetra Tour (2016-20) before a back injury and subsequent surgery forced her retirement in 2020. She made 13 cuts on the Symetra Tour, highlighted by a tie for fourth at the 2017 Fuccillo Kia Classic of New York and a seventh-place finish at the 2017 IOA Golf Classic. She also tied for 10th at the 2018 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.
Prior to heading to Ann Arbor, Newell was a golf professional at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair Beach, Fla. With more than 20 dedicated students, she ran a summer golf camp for ages 6-15. She was also instrumental in founding the Pelican Fitness Center.
Over the last decade, she has continued to volunteer and teach golf with the First Tee program at Cheval Golf Club and Fox Hollow Golf Club in Tampa, Fla. She began her teaching career at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., following her collegiate career.
During her four years at Tennessee (2012-15), Newell played in 38 career tournaments and posted seven top-10 finishes while leading the Volunteers to four straight NCAA regional bids and two NCAA Finals (2012 and 2015). As a senior, she was named a Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America honorable mention and tied for seventh at the NCAA Finals. That same season she earned her first collegiate victory at the Westbrook Spring Invitational and was the runner-up at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.
In addition to her career year as a senior, Newell assisted in teaching a Master of Business Administration program class designed to introduce female students to the fundamentals of golf in order to help them succeed in the business world.
