Erin Thorne is the Director of Student-Athlete Development and head women’s golf coach at Wingate University. She enters her sixth year as the head coach for the Bulldog women’s golf program in the 2019-20 season. Wingate is the number 24 team in the 2019-20 WGCA coaches’ top 25 preseason poll.
During her time as Wingate’s head coach, Thorne has helped the Bulldogs win three tournaments with eight second-place finishes and 11 third-place showings. In 2019, Wingate finished third in the South Atlantic Conference championships. Mind Puangcharoen was a WGCA All-American and the SAC Golfer of the Year. Diana McDonald finished second in the SAC tournament.
In 2018, Wingate won the SAC tournament as Thorne received SAC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire to collect a 26-stroke victory over runner-up Queens University of Charlotte. Puangcharoen was the 2018 SAC individual medalist with her 54-hole total of 232. Puangcharoen was joined on the all-tournament first team by teammates McDonald and Laura Nunez Rodriguez.
McDonald was the SAC Golfer of the Year, while Puangcharoen and Nunez Rodriguez found spots on the second and honorable mention All-SAC teams, respectively. The Bulldogs finished no lower than fourth in their 2017-18 regular season tournaments, winning the title at the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate in the fall.
In 2017, Thorne was voted the SAC women’s golf Coach of the Year by her peers. A school-record five Wingate student-athletes were named to the All-SAC teams. Thorne helped the Bulldogs win the 2017 Wingate Intercollegiate Challenge in March. Wingate had three second-place showings (Catawba, Pfeiffer and Tusculum events) during the 2016-17 season. The Bulldogs finished third, fifth and fourth in her first three SAC championship tournaments.
Prior to her time at Wingate, Thorne was the graduate assistant women’s golf coach at Ohio Dominican University for one year. She helped guide ODU student-athlete Jamie Ellison to qualify for the NCAA Division II East Regional. Ellison was the first ODU female golfer to qualify for post-season play.
A four-year letter winner at Western Michigan University, she played in every event the Broncos played from 2003-07. She was named to the All-MAC second team twice. The runner-up for MAC Freshman of the Year in 2004, Thorne was four-year member of the MAC Academic team.
Thorne turned professional in 2007, competing on the Duramed Futures Tour, the Suncoast Tour and the Canadian Women’s Tour. She became a member of the PGA of Canada in 2007, attaining class A status in 2011.
The Assistant Golf Professional at South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club for five years, Thorne coached the club’s junior team for four years. She was an apprentice coach with the Golf Association of Ontario for one summer.
Erin Thorne quick facts
Hometown: Bracebridge, Ontario
Alma Mater: Western Michigan (’07), Wingate (MASM, ’15)
Undergraduate Degree: Athletic Training
