Shannon Sykora enters his eighth year as Barry University women's golf team's head coach in 2019-20.
He was named the acting head coach in June 2012, and took over as head coach in March 2013. For two years, Sykora served as the assistant coach for the Buccaneers men’s and women’s golf teams. He brought over 11 years of professional and instructional experience to Barry, which included four years of private instruction.
Sykora led the Buccaneers to the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship. He was named the Women's Golf Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2017. His Buccaneer teams have produced an overall head-to-head record of 688-152-7 entering the 2018-19 season.
Sykora led the Bucs to one of their best seasons ever in 2018-19. The Bucs, who held the top spot in both the GolfStat and WGCA national rankings for most of the year, set a school single season scoring record at 297.13 (8.74 vs. par). The Bucs won five of 11 tournaments, tying the mark from 2016-17, leading to a finish percentage of 91.6, also a school-best mark. Tilda Larsson was, again, a First-Team WGCA All-American and Josefina Foa Torres earned honorable mention. Barry posted an outstanding 170-6 record, never finishing below third in any event.
Barry finished fifth in the nation in 2017-18. The Buccaneers captured their second straight NCAA South Region title, locking up a berth in their fourth NCAA Championship event under Sykora. Barry won four tournaments during the season. Larsson won a school season-record four tournaments, and shared the lead after regulation in another, on her way to earning WGCA Division II Player of the Year acclaim. She, Foa Torres and Noemie Paré each earned All-America honors. Barry had a head-to-head record of 111-27-1 during the season.
In the 2016-17 national championship season, the Buccaneers won a school-record five tournaments, including the South Regional under Sykora, who also was named the South Region and Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year. Barry won three straight tournaments during the season. The Bucs were fifth in the 15-team University of Miami's Division I Hurricane Invitational, finishing ahead of the likes of Penn State, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, South Florida and Florida International. Charlotte Puts was named the WGCA's Freshman of the Year. Puts and Larsson were First-Team All-Americans, and Paré was an Honorable Mention All-American. Larsson won a school-record three tournaments during the season, and Puts claimed two titles, including the SSC Championship. Barry went 129-14 during the season.
The Buccaneers won three tournaments in 2015-16, and finished second in three others. Barry claimed back-to-back titles at the Saint Leo Invitational and Flagler Fall Slam, and won the NCAA Division I Lady Eagle Invitational hosted by Southern Mississippi. Larsson was named the WGCA National Freshman of the Year, as well as the SSC Freshman of the Year. She was a First-Team All-American, while Nicky Ferre was a Second-Team selection, and Maria Paola Fiorio an honorable mention pick. The Bucs put together a 123-21-1 record.
Barry qualified for its fourth straight NCAA Tournament in 2014-15 under Sykora. The Buccaneers finished sixth at the NCAA South Regional. Barry also won the SSC Championship for the first time in school history in 2015. A week earlier, Sykora's team won the Sonoma State Invitational. Three different Barry golfers had rounds in the upper 60s in the spring of 2015. Ferre qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual. Barry was 100-38-2 in head-to-head competition.
In 2013-14, Sykora guided Barry to an NCAA Championship runner-up. It was the third straight trip to the NCAA Championship under his leadership. Barry won four tournaments during the season. The Bucs set a school record for low round (289) in the second round of the NCAA Championships. Ferre was named a Second Team All-American. Sykora's team went 116-22-2.
In 2012-13, Sykora led the Buccaneers to a third-place finish at the National Championship in his first year as head coach. Sophomore Nancy Vergara won the individual national title, shooting a 3-over 291 in Daytona Beach. It marked the first time in school history the Bucs qualified for back-to-back national championship events. Barry won the Flagler Fall Slam, while finishing second in the Division II Fall Preview and Southwest Minnesota State Spring Invite. Both of their runner-up finishes came on the course where the NCAA Championship were held. Vergara became Barry's first individual national champion n any sport. His team was 109-30-1 in head-to-head matchups.
In 2011-12, Sykora helped the women’s team capture a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championship in Louisville. It marked only the second time in the women’s golf program’s history the Bucs qualified for the NCAA Championship. Barry also won three events during the season. He also served as the men’s assistant coach in 2011-12, helping Barry finish tied for fifth at the NCAA Championship. The Bucs won three tournaments during the season, finished runner-up five times and held the No. 1 national ranking for most of the year.
In 2010-11, Sykora helped the men’s and women’s programs to a combined 163-61-1 record and a pair of tournament wins, including one with the women’s team at the Flagler Fall Slam, and another with the men’s team at the Buccaneer Invitational.
Prior to joining the Barry coaching staff, Sykora served as the First Assistant Golf Professional at Teton Pines Country Club in Jackson, Wyo. At Teton Pines, he was the lead junior instructor. Before his position at Teton Pines, Sykora served as the head professional at Pine Island Ridge Country Club in Davie, Fla. Sykora was responsible for overseeing all aspects of golf operations. Sykora oversaw the direction of an active teaching program at the club.
In addition to his professional experience, Sykora played professionally for 12 years. He played in two PGA Tour events. Beginning in 1995, his extended tour stops include the Web.com Tour, European Tour, Challenge Tour, New England Tour, North Atlantic Tour and the Tour De Las Americas.
In 1998, Sykora made the cut at the B.C. Open in one of his two PGA Tour events. He also played in the tournament the previous year.
Sykora won 11 events on the North Atlantic Tour, and was the 1998 NAT Player of the Year and the leading money winner on the tour. During that season, he won eight tournaments, including six on the North Atlantic Tour.
In 2000, he tied for 12th twice while on the Web.com Tour, doing so at the Steamtown Classic in Scranton, Pa., and at the Cleveland Open. That same year, Sykora was the runner-up at the Peruvian Open in Lima, Peru on the Tour de las Americas, which now operates as the Latin America PGA Tour. He picked up his second runner-up finish in 2000 at the Brazilian Open in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
In 2001, he won the New Hampshire State Open Championship. That same year, he was the Massachusetts Open runner-up.
From 2004-07, he competed on the Challenge Tour and New England Tour. In 2004, Sykora finished fourth on the New England Tour money winner’s list.
In 2008, while working at Teton Pines, Sykora won the PGA Rocky Mountain Section Championship in Cody, Wyo. His win qualified him for the PGA Assistants National Championships.
Sykora has over 20 tour victories worldwide, and has competed in hundreds of professional events. In 2016, he competed in the Florida Open.
Sykora is a 1994 graduate of the University of Tulsa with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He and his wife, Shannon, and child live in Fort Lauderdale.
