Richard Sykes Day
12/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Dec. 17, 2004
NC State men's golf coach Richard Sykes will be honored by his hometown, Wendell, N.C., Friday, Dec. 17, as Wendell declares it "Richard Sykes Day." Presentations and recognition of Sykes will be held at 11:45 a.m., Dec. 17 in the Wendell Community Center.
One of the most respected and successful men's golf coaches in the NCAA, Sykes has built the excellence and tradition of the Wolfpack men's golf program. A 1968 graduate of NC State, Sykes was a member of the golf team and also ran track. Serving as the head pro at Wendell Country Club before returning to his alma mater, 2004-05 marks the 34th season as NC State's head coach for Sykes.
Under the direction of Sykes, NC State won the 1990 ACC Championship and the Wolfpack has been represented in the NCAA Championship 29 times. Sykes has coached five ACC Champions, one ACC Player of the Year, two ACC Rookies of the Year, 39 All-ACC selections, 27 All-Americans and 15 Academic All-Americans. A four-time ACC Coach of the Year, Sykes was named the 1990 District III Coach of the Year and was elected as the coach of the West squad in the 1999 East-West All-Star matches.
For his accomplishments at the helm of the Wolfpack, Sykes was inducted into the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Nearly two-dozen of his former players are touring professionals and nearly two-dozen more are club professionals around the country. Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson, two of Sykes' most successful protégé's, have earned millions of dollars playing on the PGA Tour and represented their home countries in the 2002 World Cup. Five former NC State golfers (Clark, Pettersson, Kelly Mitchum, Jeff Lankford and Todd Gleaton), all of whom played under Sykes, participated in the 2004 Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., this past summer.
Three of Sykes' former players have followed his footsteps into college coaching. Press McPhaul is the head coach at Vanderbilt, Bowen Sargent is the head coach at Tennessee and Dickie Brewer is the assistant women's coach at NC State. Overseeing the completion of NC State's short-game practice facility this past fall, Sykes carries the title of Assistant Athletics Director for Golf Operations at NC State and is overseeing the start and completion of NC State's home golf course on the centennial campus. A former member of the National Advisory Board for the Golf Coaches Association of America, Sykes has served on the NCAA Selection Committee and has been the chairman as well.
Married to the former Pam Manning of Zebulon, the Sykes still reside in Wendell and they have four children: David, Rick, Paige, Stacy and five grandchildren: Alison, Cody, Samantha, Jack and Eddie.