Andrew Sapp enters his second season as head coach of the Purdue men's golf program in the 2025-26 season.
Sapp previously served as the assistant coach for two seasons before taking over the reins last summer.
Sapp had one of the best first seasons as a head coach in not only school history, but NCAA history. He led the Boilermakers to the NCAA Championships, recording their best finish in collegiate golf’s premier event since 2005, while winning three tournaments, tied for the fifth most by a first-year head coach in NCAA history.
Sapp has now taken three schools to the NCAA Championships (Purdue, North Carolina, Michigan), one of a handful of coaches in NCAA history to accomplish that.
“Andrew’s resume in college golf speaks for itself. He is in an elite class of Big Ten head coaches who have taken a team to match play at the NCAA Championships,” said Tim House, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director and Associate Vice President for Development. “More important to Mike Bobinski and me though, is the elite character we have seen him display with our young people. We are excited to support Coach Sapp as he continues the tradition of excellence for the Purdue men’s golf program.”
In his first season, Sapp guided the Boilermakers to titles at the season-opening Island Resort Intercollegiate, the elite Puerto Rico Classic and the Hootie Intercollegiate. Entering the Big Ten Championships, Purdue owned a 10-1-1 record against the nation’s top-10 teams during the spring season.
The Boilermakers then reached the NCAA Championships after finishing fourth at the NCAA Auburn Regional Championships. Entering the final round in sixth place, Purdue fired a 2-over par 290 to easily move into the top five and advance to the NCAA Championships for the second straight season.
Purdue finished tied 27th at the NCAA Championship, but had a player competing on Memorial Day for the first time since 2004, when freshman Supapon Amornchaichan finished tied for ninth at 3-under par 285 (73-69-72-71). It was the highest finish for a Purdue golfer in the NCAA Championships since 1961 and the highest placing for a freshman at the NCAA Championships.
With his finish, Amornchaichan earned honorable mention All-America honors, giving Purdue All-America mentions in four of the last five seasons (Cole Bradley – 2021; Herman Sekne – 2023, 2024; Supapon Amornchaichan – 2025).
With Sapp’s help during the 2023-24 season, the Boilermakers reached the National Championships for the first time since 2017, while winning a pair of events in the fall season. Purdue’s two victories equaled its most since the 2015-16 campaign (three wins). Two players (Herman Sekne and Nels Surtani) were named All-Big Ten and PING All-Midwest Region with Sekne winning Purdue’s first Big Ten Golfer of the Year honor since 2002 (Lee Williamson).
His tutelage was instrumental in the development of returnees Kent Hsiao, Nels Surtani and Sam Easterbrook. Hsiao was playing his best golf late in the season, leading after 36 holes at NCAA Regionals and then posting Purdue’s highest finish at the National Championships since 2004 with a 34th-place finish. Surtani earned All-Big Ten and All-Midwest Region accolades after winning the elite Puerto Rico Classic and placing 10th at NCAA Regionals. Lastly, Easterbrook posted back-to-back top-five finishes late in the spring at Calusa Pines and Ohio State and finished his season with the fourth-best freshman stroke average in school history.
Sapp brought a wealth of coaching experience to Purdue after having head coaching stints at East Carolina (2017-21), his alma mater North Carolina (2012-17) and the University of Michigan (2002-11). He was a part of the Purdue coaching staff from 1998 to 2002. Sapp also served as the President of the Golf Coaches Association of America from 2016-18.
Sapp began his coaching career at North Carolina in 1993, helping the Tar Heels to five straight NCAA Championship appearances and a 10th-place finish in 1997. Following that year, he came to Purdue, then helping the Boilermakers to a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Championships, while assisting with Purdue’s last All-American before Sekne (Lee Williamson). Purdue also won Regional titles in 2001 and 2002, and helped guide the women’s team to a ninth-place showing at the 2000 NCAA Championships.
In 2002, he was named Michigan’s head men’s golf coach, leading the Wolverines to a pair of top-10 national championship finishes in 2011 (10th) and 2009 (3rd). His 2011 squad won the 2011 NCAA Central Regional championship and he recruited and signed the nation’s No. 7-ranked golfer in high school. Almost 20 years later, Sapp still remains just one of three coaches to lead a team to the match play portion at the NCAA Championships.
In addition, he created the vision, assisted in the design and helped raise funds for a $2.5 million indoor practice facility at Michigan.
Sapp was named North Carolina’s head coach in 2011, improving the program’s ranking from 73rd in 2011 to 26th in 2017. The Tar Heels reached the 2017 NCAA Championships placing 18th and recruited and signed four of the top-10 nationally-ranked high school junior golfers.
In 2017, Sapp was hired at East Carolina, leading the Pirates to two team titles and signing two nationally-ranked top-100 players. While at East Carolina, he coached three players into the top five of the program’s all-time career stroke average list.
Sapp earned a pair of degrees from UNC, a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1993 and a master’s in sports administration in 1996.
An avid golfer still, Sapp competed in the 2022 and 2025 U.S. Senior Opens and narrowly missed qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Senior Open. In 2025, Sapp was in the top 15 entering the final round, before a tough final round dropped him to 50th. However, Sapp was the only collegiate head coach to make the cut.
He and his wife Laura have one son, Connor.