In his first year at the helm, Mickey Yokoi led the ASU women's golf program in a direction most programs would salivate to be in.
The Sun Devils logged top-10 finishes in all 12 tournaments of the season and finished ninth at the 2002 NCAA Championships.
After such a successful first year, why would the former Pac-10 All-American decide to concede his position and return to the ASU men's golf program as an assistant coach?
"I wanted to re-direct my career," Yokoi said in a statement issued in June. "It is in the best interest of both programs for me to make the switch as soon as possible so that both teams can be ready for the 2002-03 season."
Prior to last year's campaign, Yokoi worked as an assistant in the men's program under head coach Randy Lein. Yokoi came to Tempe in the mid-1990s and helped the Sun Devils capture the 1996 national championship.
But while leading the women's program into the top 10 for the first time since 1999, the men's team struggled. The Sun Devils finished 20th in the NCAA Western Regional and missed the cut at the NCAA Championships for the first time in 18 years.
Yokoi said he is looking forward to coaching with Lein again. He is eager to maintain the "Sun Devil men's golf program as a national power."
During his original tenure as an assistant, ASU's men's team won four Pac-10 titles and developed young golfers, like 2000 U.S. Amateur champion Jeff Quinney, 2001 U.S. Public Links champion Chez Reavie, and three-time Pac-10 champion and two-time English Amateur champion Paul Casey.
The Sun Devil men's team had a successful international appearance earlier this month. They finished seventh at 14-over 878 at the Japanese TOPY Cup in Tokyo.
Yokoi was an avid student of the game before beginning his coaching career in 1993 as the head golf professional at the Country Club of the North in Dayton, Ohio. While playing in Westwood for five years, Yokoi was instrumental in helping UCLA win the 1982 Pac-10 title.
After his amateur days, Yokoi played professionally on the Asian Tour, the Canadian and Australian PGA Tours and the PGA Hogan Tour. Yokoi still serves as a member of the PGA Tour.
Reach the reporter at damien.tippett@asu.edu.
