AUBURN, Ala. – An athlete-turned-entrepreneur whose passion for golf is matched only by her affection for Auburn, Anne Moon received the 2026 Walter Gilbert Award, presented annually to former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through achievements after graduation.
“I’m still trying to take it all in,” Moon said Saturday on the sideline of Pat Dye Field, where she was recognized during Auburn’s SEC opener. “Auburn is a special place to me and my family. It’s given me the world. For them to give this to me, there’s nothing better. It’s an extreme honor.”
Moon, who lettered for Auburn from 2000-02 while competing under her maiden name of Hutto, joined her former head coach, Kim Evans, as the only women to win the Gilbert Award in its 45-year history.
“It makes it even more special because she’s the one who gave me an opportunity all those years ago to be here at Auburn,” said Moon, who won the 2002 Southern Amateur. “Without her and without Auburn, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Where Anne and her husband Dan – who met on the Auburn Links golf course when they were students – are is among the industry leaders in retail golf stores.
“To share this award with her, it’s hard not to cry,” Moon said. “It’s amazing.”
Standing by Moon’s side, along with several former Walter Gilbert Award winners, Evans beamed with pride.
“It’s been so much fun to have her move back to Auburn,” said Evans, the 2015 winner. “We have several of our players live nearby and it’s so much fun to watch them and their lives now. For Anne to win the award and celebrate with her and her family, I’m so proud of her.”
After graduating from Auburn and getting married, the Moons worked in the golf industry in Florida, first in Jacksonville then in Melbourne, where Anne represented the Callaway Golf Company.
A decade later, they founded Moon Golf after rebranding a Golf USA franchise they bought from one of her customers.
Business has boomed, with Anne and Dan now owning three Moon Golf locations in Melbourne, Vero Beach, Florida, and Auburn, where the family relocated.
“It’s such a special award,” Evans said. “It honors athletes who have graduated from Auburn and have gone on to do some really special things in their field and still love Auburn and come back and make it their home. We’re all so lucky to be at Auburn and be a part of it all our lives.”
For the past decade, Anne and Dan have sponsored the Moon Golf Invitational each February, attracting many of the nation’s top women’s golf programs. Auburn is the defending champion.
“This will be our 10th year in February, which is hard to believe,” Moon said. “Hoping for a repeat.”
In addition to hosting the Moon Golf Invitational, the Moons are members of Tigers Unlimited's Shug Jordan Society, supporting Auburn's golf facilities with their philanthropic gifts.
“They invested in me, she invested in me,” Moon said of Auburn and Coach Evans. “It was a goal for us, when the time was right, to be able to give back. I’m very proud and excited that we’ve been able to do that.”
Anne and Dan’s children, Caroline and Matthew, joined their parents at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the on-field recognition.
“They’re the reason we came back here,” she said. “To be in a place like Auburn with my family means the world.”