Williams continuing his love of golf through coaching

Former Moscow High School and University of Washington golfer Chris Williams dreamed of making the game of golf his career since he was a kid.

When he was younger, he thought his future would be as a player on the PGA Tour. Now, he’s a coach for the Auburn Tigers — the team that won the 2024 NCAA men’s golf championship.

Williams was a four-time state champion at Moscow and, in his freshman year with the Huskies, finished ninth among individuals in the 2010 NCAA championships.

Williams turned professional in 2013, but he realized that his dream wasn’t everything that he thought it would be.

“After college I had pretty high aspirations of playing pro golf for the rest of my life,” Williams said. “I thought that was going to be my lifestyle and it was my dream since I was a kid. And I kind of noticed early on that I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. ... It’s very lonely. You’re kind of by yourself. ... In college you got like eight people that you’re always with. Something about it didn’t really settle well with me.”

Williams continued to play pro golf for six years. Over that time, he competed in top events like the Travelers Championship, the U.S. Open, the Masters and the PGA Championship. His sixth year as a pro was actually his best, by his account, but the former Huskie still was still feeling discontent about his experience as a golfer.

Despite his dissatisfaction as a pro, there were a couple reasons why he continued. One was his contractual obligations with things like endorsements. Another was the possibility of one good tournament.

“I thought ‘I’m going to do everything I can to look past all that,’” Williams said. “I was going to give it a valiant effort. And, if after six years I didn’t make it, then I was going to seriously reconsider. … You can go win a tournament and that changes your entire life. You can’t pitch a great game and all of the sudden you go from the AAs to the Major League — it doesn’t work like that. With golf, it can happen overnight.”

Williams decided around the 2018 holiday season that he was done as a pro golfer. With that decision came another: He wanted to get into coaching.

He reached out to his old college coach, Matt Thurmond, who had become the Arizona State coach by then. Thurmond supported the idea of Williams getting into coaching, but not on his staff. Partly because the two viewed the sport too similarly, but also because Williams wasn’t technically qualified. He didn’t have a college degree.

Williams re-enrolled at Washington through a program that allowed him to pick up where he left off in his academics. Williams got his degree, but the timing wasn’t great. Most college golf coaching moves happen in April or May. Williams got his degree in July of 2019. But, as luck would have it, there was an opening at Marquette — a school half the country away from his home in Seattle.

Williams had only been near Milwaukee once during a competition in college, and had very little knowledge about the program and the city.

Williams was flown out by Marquette coach Steve Bailey and the two went to eat and to discuss the position. Williams was in a city he didn’t know, 1,992 miles away from Seattle. But he experienced some signs he described as “destiny” that convinced him to take the job.

First, at a breakfast spot early on a Tuesday morning, he saw a kid sitting with his mom in a University of Washington T-shirt and a Seattle Pilots hat. Later in the day, they went to a dinner place. Their signature item was called “Wisconsin meets Idaho.” It was a Wisconsin ribeye with an Idaho spud potato.

But the final sign came when Williams was back in Seattle, when he and his wife were watching a Mariners game at T-Mobile Park.

“We sat down (at the ballpark), the guy in front of us was wearing a Marquette shirt,” Williams said. “It was like ‘three strikes, you’re out buddy.’ … I took a photo with the guy, I sent it to Steve and I said ‘I’ll take the job.’”

Williams was on the Marquette staff for 18 months from 2019-2021. In his first season as a coach, the team won a Big East conference title and almost won a second one. Williams enjoyed his time at Marquette and developed a friendship with Bailey. He also developed a newfound appreciation for warmer climates.

“I hated the winters but it made me realize how nice other places in the country are,” Williams said.

Williams made enough of an impression to earn an opportunity to show off his coaching chops in the Southeastern Conference.

Auburn coach Nick Clinard called to talk to Williams about an opening on his staff late in the spring of 2021. There were a couple mutual connections between Williams and the Auburn program that made the interviewing process less stressful. Clinard offered him the job and Williams made another move, this time 868 miles, down to Auburn, Ala.

Since arriving in the South, Williams has become a key figure for a program that has been at the forefront of men’s college golf.

The Tigers have finished in the top 10 of the NCAA championships every season Williams has coached there, and most recently reached the pinnacle of the sport with a No. 1 ranking in the NCAA Coaches’ poll and a national championship.

“As a player, it’s all about you and you have to be selfish with your time,” Williams said. “And (as a coach), nothing’s about you. Everything is about the players. Everything is about the kids. You do everything you can to help them get to where they want to be. That was probably the biggest adjustment.”

Williams’ experience in the national championship and as a professional has been invaluable to the team, and he has relayed the lessons he’s learned. Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun won the Fred Haskins award this past season (the golf equivalent to the Heisman Trophy). Because of all his accolades, he has a chance to earn his PGA Tour card this summer, and Williams has had several pieces of advice for the 19-year-old.

“There’s still things I wished I had done differently,” Williams said. “I was talking about things that Jackson needs to do better. Conversations about what he needs to improve on. … There’s little things like that where I feel like having that experience, I can tell him things he wouldn’t get from other people — he’ll listen to me. Because I’ve been there, I’ve done it. I know what he wants to do.”

Williams has had a busy month since Nationals. He accompanied a couple of his players — Jacob Solomon and Brendan Valdes — at the U.S. Open and has been on the recruiting trail. Even with his busy schedule, he’s heard the support from his old home town about Auburn’s national triumph.

“I think there’s a lot of people that go into this,” Williams said. “My mom told me the other day she ran into my old high school coach, Ken Jordan, who was at Moscow High forever. And the first thing he said is ‘How about the Auburn Tigers?’ and how amazing that was. And I think it’s so cool there’s so many people even in that area that still support me and what I’m doing. ... I’ve had multiple people from the area who reached out.”

Not long ago, Williams faced the possibility that golf, the sport he’s loved since he was a kid, was no longer in his future. Now, he’s accomplished his dream.

Golf is his career. Not the way he thought it would be, but it is. And that’s benefitted several athletes also looking for their place in the sport.

Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.