You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

Golf pro, women's coach, St. Olaf graduate to coach men's golf as well

Amy Gage
August 27, 2003

Le Ann Finger has been named the new head coach for the men's golf program at St. Olaf College. Matt McDonald, who's held the position for the past year, has been named director of athletics.

Finger, who is in her sixth year coaching the St. Olaf women's golf team, will be head coach of the men's program beginning this fall. Both teams compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and play a split season, with nine meets in the fall and three meets in the spring. Finger coached her first MIAC All-Conference golfer in 2001.

"As our head women's golf coach and golf instructor, it was a natural selection for Le Ann to head our men's program as well," McDonald says. "She has worked with golfers of all ages, when teaching golf clinics and camps."

A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Finger earned her bachelor's degree in speech communication and education from St. Olaf in 1985 and played on the women's golf team, where she lettered all four years and served as captain during her senior year. She led the team to the Minnesota Women's Collegiate Golf Association (MWCGA) State Championship in 1984.

"I am very honored to add the men's program to my coaching duties at St. Olaf," Finger says. "We have a great group of talented student-athletes on both the men's and women's teams, and I look forward to building both programs into top contenders in the MIAC conference."

Finger is a nine-time women's golf champion at Northfield Golf Club, where she worked four seasons as an assistant golf professional. She passed her Players' Ability Test and is currently an apprentice with the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America.

This past spring, after Finger learned that golf no longer would be a school-sponsored sport in middle school in Northfield, she designed and taught a program for sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls. This summer Finger also implemented and taught a junior golf program for Northfield youth from ages 8 through 16.

Finger gives more than 150 private and group golf lessons each summer and has been a golf instructor for Northfield Community Education and Recreation for six years.

Finger began her career as a communications teacher at Valley Middle School in Apple Valley in 1985. She also worked for a decade as a marketing analyst with Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent Financial for Lutherans) in Minneapolis and as an office manager for State Farm Insurance in Northfield, before entering the golf profession and working as the Sports Information Director at St. Olaf.

She and her husband, David, live in rural Dundas with their two daughters, Kelsey, 12, and Brooke, 10. Finger is a member of the Minnesota Section of the PGA, Northfield Rotary Club and Bethel Lutheran Church.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.