Golf Names James Lee Assistant Coach
8/10/2022 3:39:00 PM | Men's Golf
HOUSTON, Texas — Rice golf coach Justin Emil has announced the addition of former Rice golfer James Lee as Assistant Coach, he announced Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm so excited to bring onboard James Lee, who was a part of my first recruiting class in 2012," said Emil. "He was an exceptional student-athlete in both the classroom and on the course. James was a part of our 2014 conference championship team. It's an honor to be able to bring him back to the program as a coach. His professional playing career, teaching experience, and degree in psychology will greatly benefit our student-athletes. He absolutely loves Rice and is passionate about the golf team as well as all of the other sports that compete here."
Lee returns to South Main after spending two years as the Assistant Golf Professional at the Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., where he served under former Rice Golf standout and Athletics Hall of Famer Brad Lardon. He also started a PGA Apprenticeship in the South Texas PGA Section, serving as a Golf Instructor at Wildcat Golf Club in Houston, where his focus was on teaching the fundamentals of golf to junior golfers.
This past year, Lee was the Head Coach for both the boys and girls teams at St. John's School in Houston, where he led the girls to a No. 1 ranking in Texas and the SPC League championship, winning it by 38 strokes.
While at Rice, Lee helped the Owls to the Conference USA Championship in 2014, their first conference title in 75 years. He was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as its President for two years. Lee was a two-time Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar while earning Conference USA All-Academic Team honors in 2016. He was also a two-time Rice Golf Scholar-Athlete.
Lee has also been a board member of the R Association since 2021, serving as its Vice President since June.
Following graduation, he played professionally on the Asian Tour and PGA TOUR Series of China.
"It is truly an honor for me to return to my alma mater as the next Assistant Men's Golf Coach at this juncture in my professional career," added Lee. "After a whirlwind few years working with incredibly talented people on different sides of the industry, it finally feels like I am ready to do the job I have been fortunate enough to passionately pursue since college. Though my journey has been transformative and bittersweet at every stop along the way, I cannot thank Coach Emil and Rice Athletics enough for this tremendous opportunity to continue my coaching career back at the place of my fondest memories. We cannot wait to push the envelope and take the program we all care so much about to the next level and beyond. There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be the start of something special."
A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Lee graduated from Rice in 2016 with a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology and Kinesiology.
"I'm so excited to bring onboard James Lee, who was a part of my first recruiting class in 2012," said Emil. "He was an exceptional student-athlete in both the classroom and on the course. James was a part of our 2014 conference championship team. It's an honor to be able to bring him back to the program as a coach. His professional playing career, teaching experience, and degree in psychology will greatly benefit our student-athletes. He absolutely loves Rice and is passionate about the golf team as well as all of the other sports that compete here."
Lee returns to South Main after spending two years as the Assistant Golf Professional at the Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., where he served under former Rice Golf standout and Athletics Hall of Famer Brad Lardon. He also started a PGA Apprenticeship in the South Texas PGA Section, serving as a Golf Instructor at Wildcat Golf Club in Houston, where his focus was on teaching the fundamentals of golf to junior golfers.
This past year, Lee was the Head Coach for both the boys and girls teams at St. John's School in Houston, where he led the girls to a No. 1 ranking in Texas and the SPC League championship, winning it by 38 strokes.
While at Rice, Lee helped the Owls to the Conference USA Championship in 2014, their first conference title in 75 years. He was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as its President for two years. Lee was a two-time Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar while earning Conference USA All-Academic Team honors in 2016. He was also a two-time Rice Golf Scholar-Athlete.
Lee has also been a board member of the R Association since 2021, serving as its Vice President since June.
Following graduation, he played professionally on the Asian Tour and PGA TOUR Series of China.
"It is truly an honor for me to return to my alma mater as the next Assistant Men's Golf Coach at this juncture in my professional career," added Lee. "After a whirlwind few years working with incredibly talented people on different sides of the industry, it finally feels like I am ready to do the job I have been fortunate enough to passionately pursue since college. Though my journey has been transformative and bittersweet at every stop along the way, I cannot thank Coach Emil and Rice Athletics enough for this tremendous opportunity to continue my coaching career back at the place of my fondest memories. We cannot wait to push the envelope and take the program we all care so much about to the next level and beyond. There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be the start of something special."
A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Lee graduated from Rice in 2016 with a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology and Kinesiology.
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