Augusta University Men's Golf

Steven Paine was named head men's golf coach and director of golf at Augusta University on June 2, 2022. With his appointment, Paine became the seventh full-time head coach of Augusta University's storied golf program. In 2024, Paine led the Jaguars to a repeat performance as the Southland Conference Champions, winning by 18 strokes. Graduate student Cole Stevens took home the individual title and was named the SLC Men's Golf Player of the Year. Four Jaguars were named to the All-Conference team and Paine was named the SLC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Jags wrapped the season at the NCAA Southeast Regional.  During his first year at the helm, Paine was named the 2023 Southland Conference Coach of the Year. The Jaguars won their first Southland Conference Championship by a huge 14-stroke margin. Freshman Stefan Jacobs took home the individual championship by 6 strokes and was named the 2023 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. Jacobs and fellow freshman Behn Heyns were both voted to the Southland All-Conference First Team. Augusta men's golf would go on to make an appearance at the NCAA Auburn Regional.  The former head coach for Point University and most recently the assistant men's coach at Mississippi State University, Paine has seen success both coaching and playing.   Paine joined the staff at Mississippi State as an assistant coach in January 2020. During his time with the Bulldogs, he helped lead the Bulldogs to their 12th NCAA Regional Appearance. Paine was a head coach with six-plus seasons at Point University. Most recently, he was a finalist to lead the United States team at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup and was a finalist for the NAIA's Dave Williams Award the same year. Under the tutelage of Coach Paine, the Point Skyhawks garnered 23 tournament championships and won 9 consecutive tournaments prior to his departure. As individuals, his teams had 20 medalists. Coach Paine also led Point to its first Appalachian Athletic Conference team title in 2017, followed with titles in the following consecutive seasons. He was named the conference's Coach of the Year in all three campaigns. In 2020, he led the Skyhawks to a No. 1 national ranking and took the program to three NAIA National Championship tournaments during his tenure. Paine coached 2017 AAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American Francisco de Oliviera and 2018 AAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American Joao Magalhaes. De Oliviera also was of 30 semifinalists from the NAIA for the prestigious Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award in 2017; Maddux Lytle was a semifinalist in 2018 and earned All-Conference first team honors; and Magalhaes and Eric Wowor were semifinalists and All-Conference first team selections in 2019.   In the classroom, Paine has coached six NAIA Academic All-Americans and 21 Appalachian Athletic Conference All-Academic Scholars. His student-athletes have collected seven NAIA All-American honors and 13 all-conference honors.   Prior to his tenure at Point, he spent a year as a golf graduate assistant at Columbus State University, where he captained the program as a student-athlete from 2010-12. The Cougars' 2013 team went on to a top-10 ranking and made the NCAA DII National Championship Tournament.   Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Paine was a member of the South African Junior National Team before coming to the United States to play at CSU in 2008. In his first year stateside, he earned NCAA All-Freshman Team honors along with NCAA DII All-American Honorable Mention. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance in 2012. He earned his master's degree in business administration in 2014.   Paine is joined in Augusta by his wife, Britney, his son, Liam, and his daughters, Adaline and Asher. He is a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America's (GCAA) Executive Committee and has served as a caddy on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.  

O'Keefe came to Ole Miss after breaking into the collegiate coaching ranks at the University of Central Arkansas. During his four-year tenure as an assistant at UCA, O'Keefe helped the Bears climb from No. 139 in the national rankings all the way to 63rd in the final Golfweek magazine poll in 2010. O'Keefe guided UCA to a runnerup finish in the Southland Conference Championship in 2010 and placed all five players on the All-Southland Conference team (the only school to have five players make all-conference). From 2006-2009, O'Keefe helped lead the Bears to seven team victories (four in the 2009-10 season) and six individual victories. "What an incredible opportunity this is to be the head coach at Augusta," O'Keefe said. "It is both honoring and humbling to be a part of such a tradition-rich program. I have already begun securing our fall schedule for 2014 as well as planning one-on-one meetings with each player. I want to know them on and off the golf course. I am committed to encouraging and getting the most out of every player. The support of Coach Bryant, the search committee, the university, and our community will allow us to compete against the best teams in the country. Now begins the countdown 82 days until we tee it up at our first spring tournament." Prior to coaching at Central Arkansas, O'Keefe was the head golf professional at Hot Springs (Ark.) Country Club. While at HSCC, O'Keefe directed over 200 tournaments and taught over 400 lessons. He also directed the junior golf camps each year with over 60 juniors participating each summer. Following a highly-decorated collegiate career, O'Keefe joined the professional ranks in June, 1993 and played all around the world for nearly 10 years. Among his proudest accomplishments as a professional include earning his PGA Tour card in 1997 (he finished 175th on the PGA Tour Official Money List) and competing in the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills (Mich.) Country Club (72-71-76-76), where he was paired in the third round with world No. 1 Tom Lehman. O'Keefe enjoyed a terrific season on the Nike Tour in 1996, ranking 15th on the money list with a pair of runnerup finishes. He earned 1995 Player of the Year honors on the Hooters Tour after a pair of victories. He was named 1995 International Rookie of the Year in Ube, Japan, and was the 1994 Australasian Tour Rookie of the Year after a 19th-place finish on the Australasian Tour's official money list. A three-time winner on the Hooters Tour, O'Keefe earned the Hooters Tour's Golf Achievement Award in 2001. As a collegian at the University of Arkansas, O'Keefe was a four-time All-American, a two-time All-SEC selection and an All-Southwest Conference performer from 1989-93. He registered three individual victories as his Razorback squads captured 10 team tournament titles over his last two seasons. A 2010 graduate of the University of Arkansas with a B.S. in Education, O'Keefe is married to the former Susan Fruits of Russellville, Ky. They are the parents of four children -- Lucy, John-Freeman, Henry and Hogan.   John Freeman O'Keefe, Jr. Sept. 28, 1969 (born in Waterbury, Conn.) Little Rock, Ark. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., 1989-93; B.S. in Education (Industrial & Technology), University of Arkansas, 2010 Head Coach , Augusta University, December, 2014, to present Associate Head Men's Golf Coach, University of Mississippi, August, 2010 to November, 2013 Assistant Men's Golf Coach, University of Central Arkansas, August, 2006 to August, 2010 Head Golf Professional, Hot Springs (Ark.) Country Club, January, 2003 to August, 2006 Professional Golfer, June, 1993 to December, 2002 Hooters Tour member, 1998-2002 PGA Tour member, 1997 (finished 175th on official money list) Nike Tour member, 1996 (finished 15th on official money list) Competed in 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills (Mich.) Country Club (72-71-76-76) PGA Australasian Tour member, 1994-98 Hooters Tour member, 1994-95 Hooters Tour Golf Achievement Award winner, 2001 Winner, Hooters Tour, Bay St. Louis, Miss., 2000 Finished in 13th place, PGA Tour's Deposit Guarantee Classic, 1997 Finished in 16th place, PGA Tour's FedEx Classic, 1997 Runnerup, NIKE Tour, Monterey, Mexico, 1996 and in Huntsville, Ala., 1996 Hooters Tour Player of the Year (led Hooters Tour official money list), 1995 Winner, Hooters Tour, Douglas, Ga., 1995 and in Rantoul, Ill., 1995 Australasian Tour Rookie of the Year (finished 19th on Australasian Tour official money list), 1994 Four-year letterwinner at University of Arkansas, 1989-93 Four-time NCAA All-American Two-time All-SEC selection All-Southwest Conference selection Medalist in three collegiate events 3-time Arkansas State Golf Association Player of the Year, 1990, 1991 and 1992 3-time U.S. Amateur participant in 1989 (Merion Golf Club), in 1991 (The Honors Course) and in 1992 (Muirfield Village Golf Club) U.S. Amateur Public Links semifinalist, 1992 U.S. Amateur Public Links participant, 1991 U.S. Amateur Public Links quarterfinalist, 1990 Wife: the former Susan Fruits of Russellville, Ky. Children: Lucy, John-Freeman, Henry and Hogan

Ruan Pretorius joined the Augusta University men’s golf coaching staff in 2025 after serving as the assistant with the Jaguar women’s golf program, for the historic 2023-2024 season.. Under his guidance, the women's squad captured the Southland Conference Championship, with standout accolades including Kennedy Carroll being named Golfer of the Year and Kiera Gonzalez-McCarthy earning Freshman of the Year honors. Before joining the coaching ranks, Pretorius enjoyed a standout collegiate playing career at Mississippi State University and Point University. At Mississippi State, Pretorius competed in 18 events over two seasons (2021–23) as a graduate transfer and was named to the 2022 SEC Academic Honor Roll. He claimed individual medalist honors at the 2023 Desert Mountain Invitational with a career-best 8-under 208, and recorded top-10 finishes at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational and the All-American Intercollegiate. He also helped MSU advance to match play at the 2022 SEC Championship and made a strong showing at the NCAA New Haven Regional. Prior to MSU, Pretorius starred at Point University, where he finished the 2021 season ranked No. 1 in the final Golfstat NAIA individual rankings. He was a two-time PING First Team All-American, 2020 Georgia PGA Amateur Player of the Year, and team captain of the No. 1-ranked Skyhawks. He compiled a remarkable 1,261–2 comparative record in 2021 and notched four individual victories and 14 top-10 finishes during his time at Point. Originally from South Africa, Pretorius brings a blend of elite playing experience, statistical knowledge, and a competitive mindset to the Augusta golf programs.