Gophers women’s golf coach to retire later this month

The University of Minnesota women’s golf program is searching for its next coach.

On Thursday, head coach Rhyll Brinsmead announced that she’ll retire to spend more time with her family after the end of the NCAA Championships.

Brinsmead has led the Gophers since 2021. Before that, she led Kennesaw State’s program for 13 years and was also an assistant at Iowa State during her 21-year coaching career.

The Australia native coached some of the top golfers in school history and also helped the program set a school record for the lowest 18-hole round (263 at the 2022 Evie Odom Invitational) and the lowest 54-hole round (845 at the 2022 Evie Odom Invitational).

“I have loved every minute of building this program, and I am so proud of the current state of the program and the work we have done in the last three-and-a-half years,” Brinsmead said in a statement released by the program. “I want to thank the Minnesota golf community for embracing my vision and supporting me wholeheartedly, as I absolutely loved keeping Minnesotans home.”

“We thank Rhyll for her dedication and passion in leading our women’s golf program,” Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle said. “The program is headed in the right direction, and we wish Rhyll and her family all the best moving forward. We will immediately start a national search for our next head coach.”

Minnesota will be represented by Isabella McCauley, this year’s Big Ten Champion, at the May 17-22 NCAA Championships in California.