California State University - Sacramento Women's Golf

David Sutherland is in his 17th season as the Sacramento State head coach and has helped turn the Hornets into one of top programs on the West Coast. Sutherland has been named the Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 and has guided the program to five NCAA regional appearances.      A veteran PGA Tour player, Sutherland competed in 215 PGA events and 83 Nationwide Tour tournaments during his 17 years on the circuit. A native of Carmichael, Calif., Sutherland recorded eight top 10 and 32 top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour. His best PGA finish came at the 1997 Greater Milwaukee Open where he tied for second. He also recorded a pair of third-place ties, including the 1999 Bell Canadian Open. In addition, Sutherland competed in the British Open and the PGA Tour Championship.      While at Sacramento State, Sutherland’s teams have rewritten the school record book. Each of the top 20 single-round  and three-round tournament scores have come under his watch. His teams have routinely been among the best in the Big Sky Conference with six second-place finishes at the conference tournament before the Hornets defeated Idaho in a playoff to win the crown in 2017. That honor helped Sutherland be named the Big Sky Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. After again finishing second in 2018, the team won the Big Sky title in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.      Individually, the top 10 single-season scoring averages and each of the top 20 career scoring averages have come in Sutherland’s tenure. That list includes five golfers from the 2023-24 team which each rank among the top 12 in career scoring averages.      Sutherland also coached the Hornet men’s program for several years where he claimed a pair of America Sky Conference championships.      A graduate of Fresno State, Sutherland was a two-time All-American (1987 and 1989). He also succeeded in the classroom where he was an Academic All-American as a senior and was named Fresno State’s Pacific Coast Athletic Association Student-Athlete of the Year. He turned professional in 1989 and joined the PGA Tour in 1997.      Sutherland’s brother, Kevin, also starred at Fresno State and is currently a member of the PGA Tour.      David and his wife, Molly, have two sons (Matthew and Andrew). Matthew is currently a member of the Fresno State men’s golf team.

Cindy Mah-Lyford joined the Sacramento State coaching staff prior to the 2015-16 season. During Mah-Lyford’s time at Sacramento State, the Hornets have won five Big Sky championships and have nearly rewritten the top 10 marks for individual, team and career scoring. Prior to joining the staff at Sacramento State, Mah-Lyford was a coach at St. Francis High School for six seasons, including five as the head coach. She led the Troubadours to a sixth-place finish at the CIF State Championships in 2012 and five consecutive postseason appearances as head coach. Overall, St. Francis won six section titles during her tenure with the program including four Division I North titles and two Masters wins. The Troubadours also won five league titles. Mah-Lyford was named the 2013-14 Northern California Girls’ Golf Coach of the Year by the California Coaches’ Association. St. Francis finished eighth at the 2013 NCGA/CIF Girls Nor Cal Championship after advancing with a third-place finish at Masters. The Troubadours won the Sac-Joaquin Division I North and Delta River League titles during the season. Mah-Lyford played professionally on the Ladies European Tour for three seasons and posted two top 10 finishes. She recorded a career-best 26th-place finish in 1993 among two United States Women’s Open appearances and was 40th overall in the 1991 British Women’s Open. Although she shot a career-low round of 67 in the LPGA Tour School qualifying in 1994, she missed earning her LPGA Tour card by one stroke. The Roseville resident began playing at the age of 17 and walked on at Long Beach State. She had a strong amateur career, playing in seven USGA Championships. She reached the quarterfinals three times in the Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. She also earned three berths in the USGA Women’s Amateur Championship and one in the USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships. She is a two-time winner of the Vermont State Women’s Amateur and a semifinalist at the California State Women’s Amateur. The Stockton, Calif., native played at Long Beach State from 1981-83. She helped the 49ers to two WCAA titles during her career. Mah-Lyford is married to Keith Lyford, a former PGA Tour player and current Director of Instruction at Old Greenwood Golf Club in Truckee, Calif., and the couple has two daughters. Their daughter, Sienna,completed her career at Sacramento State during the 2022-23 season and helped the team to a Big Sky title.