Patricia Earley - Women's Golf Coach - University of North Carolina Athletics

Patricia Earley

Title:
Assistant Head Coach

Patricia Earley enters her ninth year as assistant head coach for the Tar Heels. Earley teams up with head coach Jan Mann in running the day-to-day operations of the women's golf program in addition to her on-course duties as coach and instructor. Earley, two-time Big South Player of the Year, joined the Tar Heels after playing on the Futures Golf Tour in 2002 and 2003.

"Patricia continues to be a tremendous asset to me and the golf team," says head coach Jan Mann. "Her strong commitment to the success of our program is evident each and every day. I enjoy working with Patricia to provide our student athletes with the very best opportunity to be successful and to win a national championship."

Earley is an LPGA Class A Teaching Professional, Certified TPI instructor and K-Vest instructor. She played in the 2007 SkyCaddie LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship at Pinehurst #8 where she tied for eighth place in the championship division after tying for ninth place at the event in 2006. In 2004, Earley missed qualifying for the 59th U.S. Women's Open by one stroke. She played on the Futures Golf Tour in 2002 and 2003. Earley played in 18 events in 16 states in 2002 while carding three top-20 finishes and gaining exemption status in 2003.

A native of Marion, Iowa, Earley played collegiate golf at Charleston Southern in Charleston, S.C. (1997-2001). In the fall of 2008, she, along with three other former athletes, was inducted into Charleston Southern's Athletic Hall of Fame. She won four tournament titles during her four-year career as a Buccaneer, was the Big South Champion and Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and was named the 2001 Charleston Southern Female Athlete of the Year. Named the most valuable player all four years at Charleston Southern, Earley carded all top-10 finishes during her senior year. In addition, she was champion of the 2000 Iowa State Amateur.

Earley excelled academically at Charleston Southern as she was three-time Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year for Golf (1999, 2000 and 2001). She graduated from Charleston Southern in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in biology and a minor in business administration. She also served as a work study assistant in the Charleston Southern sports information office.

"The Carolina women's golf program has a long tradition of excellence and being a small part of its history is very rewarding," says Earley. "We have a very talented group of student-athletes and they are working hard to reach their goals. I am fortunate to be coaching some of the best golfers in the country and to be coaching in one of the best collegiate environments."

Earley is married to Jeff Earley. The couple resides in Durham and has a son, Grayson Reid, born February 2010.