DAVID SUTHERLAND HIRED AS DIRECTOR OF GOLF 8/29/2007 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State athletics department has hired David Sutherland as its new director of golf, it was announced today. Sutherland replaces Adam Pohll who was hired as the women’s golf coach at Nevada earlier this month. A veteran PGA Tour player, Sutherland competed in 215 PGA events and 83 Nationwide Tour tournaments during his 17 years on the circuit. A native of Carmichael, Calif., Sutherland recorded eight top 10 and 32 top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour. His best PGA finish came at the 1997 Greater Milwaukee Open where he tied for second. He also recorded a pair of third-place ties, including the 1999 Bell Canadian Open. In addition, Sutherland competed in the British Open and the PGA Tour Championship. While Sutherland had plenty of success on the tour, it was his two years of injuries that drew him to the coaching ranks. “Because of my injuries, I had a chance to prepare for life after golf,” he explained. “I knew that I could only continue to play for a few years and then wanted to begin working with young people. When the opportunity came to coach at Sacramento State, I knew it was a great fit.” Sutherland inherits a program in which both the men’s and women’s teams won conference titles in 2007. The Hornet women tied the Big Sky Conference record and ran away from the field to win their first title. The team also advanced to the NCAA West Regional for the first time. The men’s team rallied late in the year and won the NCAA Div. I Independent Championship. This season, the men will move to the America Sky Conference. “We are very pleased to have David join the Hornet coaching family,” Sacramento State athletics director Terry Wanless said. “He brings a wealth of experience, in addition to regional and national name recognition, to our men’s and women’s golf programs.   “We have established some very good momentum in the golf program, and are confident David will keep the program heading in the right direction.” A graduate of Fresno State, Sutherland was a two-time All-American (1987 and 1989). He also succeeded in the classroom where he was an Academic All-American as a senior and was named Fresno State’s Pacific Coast Athletic Association Student-Athlete of the Year. He turned professional in 1989 and joined the PGA Tour in 1997.