Auburn man: associate men's golf HC Chris Williams demonstrates loyalty

AUBURN, Ala. –  When his alma mater invited him to come home, Chris Williams realized his dream job was the one he already had.

With Auburn competing for its second national championship in three years, the Tigers’ associate head coach got the call he’d been hoping for ever since he got into coaching as an assistant at Marquette in 2019.

The University of Washington, where Williams was a four-time All-American from 2009-13 and the Ben Hogan Award winner as the NCAA’s top golfer in 2013, offered the opportunity to be the Huskies’ head coach.

“That week was chaotic,” Williams told Andy Burcham on the Talking Tigers Podcast on War Eagle+. “The last thing I wanted was to be a distraction because I knew what we could accomplish and what this team was capable of. It was very challenging.”

While Auburn set a course record on the second round of stroke play May 30 at the 2026 NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California, Williams juggled early morning and late-night zoom calls, wrestling with the opportunity.

“It’s a school that I’ve loved since I went there,” Williams said. “It’s where my wife and I met. We still have a house there, our family lives there, and the program was a top 10 program when I was there and continued to be after I left.

“I finally made my decision right before the final round of stroke play. I was calling my parents, I was crying to my parents. This was a dream job I’d wanted for seven years.”

Wisdom from Williams’ college coach, Matt Thurmond, now the head coach at Arizona State, provided clarity.

“My old coach gave me the best advice,” Williams said. “This should be a moment of celebration, not trepidation. The fact that you’re not 100 percent all in on this, he said it’s just not the right opportunity for you. That time will come when it comes but now is not the right time. He said you’ve got more things to focus on this week.”

Before Auburn teed off for the final round of stroke play on June 1, Williams told the Tigers he would be staying for a seventh season on the Plains, his fourth as Nick Clinard’s associate head coach.

“They all bear hugged me,” Williams said. “It was this rallying cry and we all got behind it.”

Talking to the team, Williams spoke from the heart.

“I love you guys so much,” he said. “I love what we’ve done here, and we can accomplish something really special this week.

“It’s never about me. It’s always about you guys but I feel like I’ve done you a disservice this week with the distractions that I’ve caused. Let’s finish this off and let’s be national champions again.”

Two days later, with Williams shadowing freshman Logan Reilly in his clinching match against UCLA, Auburn earned its second NCAA title in three years.

As Auburn celebrated, team members and their parents expressed appreciation to Williams for his loyalty to the program.

“It made me realize that I made the right decision,” he said. “A hundred percent. We’ve been so good for the last three years. Obviously, Jackson (Koivun) helps. You don’t find those kids very often, but it puts you up there in that upper echelon of you can almost call them dynasty-type programs the last few years.

“It’s an incredible achievement. Nick is right. You come here to win national championships and now we can say that’s what we’ve done.”

In staying, Chris Williams showed that reality can sometimes exceed dreams.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_s hearer