Women's Coaching Staff

Zack Byrd
Head Coach

Zack Byrd is in his first season as head coach for the Boilermakers. One of the top recruiters in the country, Byrd takes over the Boilermakers following the retirement of 25-year head coach Devon Brouse.

Byrd spent the past four seasons at Ole Miss, serving as assistant coach before being elevated to associate head coach following the team’s 2021 national title. The Rebels captured the 2021 NCAA National Championship, the first ever by a women’s team in school history.

A well-known recruiter internationally, Byrd brought some of Europe’s best players to Ole Miss to turn the Rebels into a national powerhouse. Spending a decade as a professional golfer himself allowed Byrd to connect with players looking to reach the highest level of the sport.

Byrd joined Ole Miss in the spring of 2019, making an immediate impact with the Rebels. Ole Miss progressed throughout the campaign, playing its best golf at the right time. Byrd and the Rebels captured the SEC Championship, the first conference title in program history. Throughout the championship, Byrd walked alongside Macy Somoskey, who played an astounding 63 holes during the match play portion of the tournament, resulting in three match-deciding victories. Ole Miss rode the momentum into the NCAA Norman Regional, playing well enough to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Rebels placed 14th on the national stage, a then-program best, ending a successful first season for Byrd in Oxford.

Building off year one, Byrd’s second season at Ole Miss featured four team tournament titles, another school record for a single season. He helped guide the Rebels to wins at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Jim West Challenge, Battle at the Beach and the Moon Golf Invitational. The Jim West Challenge included a 19-under first round, the lowest team round in program history. Ole Miss led the conference in scoring average (284.22, 4-under par), and three Rebels earned All-SEC honors. Ole Miss finished the year with its best ranking in all major polls, at No. 11 in the WGCA Coaches Poll, No. 12 in Golfstat’s team rankings and No. 13 on Golfweek’s national rankings.

Byrd and the Rebels reached the mountaintop in 2021, one year after the 2020 championship season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall, Ole Miss won the East Lake Cup by defeating Texas and South Carolina to showcase the Rebels’ strength in match play. It was a preview of what was to come in the spring when the Rebels reached the NCAA Championships and qualified for match play that determines the national champion. Ole Miss took down Texas once again before rallying from behind to beat Arizona to earn a spot in the championship match. In the finals, the Rebels cruised past Oklahoma State 4-1 to win the first women’s national title in Ole Miss history.

Byrd coached Julia Johnson and Kennedy Swann, who both earned WGCA All-America honors at the end of the championship campaign. Johnson collected first team accolades, while Swann received honorable mention recognition.

Most recently, Byrd coached All-American Chiara Taburlini at last month’s NCAA Championships. He walked alongside Tamburlini for all 72 holes of the national championship, helping her manage the difficult Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course. Tamburlini not only made the cut, but she secured a top-10 finish by placing eighth.

Prior to venturing south to Mississippi, Byrd served as an assistant coach at Colorado State. He helped the Rams post their best fall three-round average (292.1) since 2011. Colorado State had four top-10 individual finishes in their four fall tournaments in 2018. The Rams won the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate with a four-under 860, the second lowest three-round score in program history.

Before transitioning to coaching, Byrd spent 10 years as a professional golfer. Ending his playing career on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour, he finished 44th on the money list while making the cut at the 2018 BMW SA Open. Byrd gained full status for the 2018 campaign after finishing runner-up for Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year in 2017. That season, he posted a 70.98 stroke average with seven top-20 finishes and three top-10s. A second-place finish at the Investec Royal Swazi Open, that included a 63 in the final round, helped Byrd break into the Top-700 of the world rankings.

Byrd qualified for the Canadian PGA Tour in 2015 and also competed on the PGA's China and Latin America tours. He held conditional status with the Web.com Tour in 2014, as well as the Nationwide Tour in 2012 and Web.com Tour in 2013 after again making the final stage of Q School.

Byrd began his pro career with numerous wins and top-10 finishes on mini tour circuits in the Southeast United States and nationwide in PGA sectional events. In 2011, he qualified and competed in the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club, while also making the final stage of the PGA Tour's Q School.

Byrd is a 2009 graduate of Coastal Carolina University where he was a five-year member of the men's golf team. As a freshman, he won the Big South Conference individual championship and was named Big South Freshman of the Year. During his time at Coastal, he helped lead the Chanticleers to three NCAA Championship berths alongside 2016 U.S. Open Champion Dustin Johnson. Byrd posted his best season of collegiate golf as a senior, collecting Third Team All-America honors by PING and Golfweek. That same year, he was the Big South Player of the Year and Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and he broke the school record for lowest round with a 9-under 63. Byrd was also a two-time GCAA All-America Scholar in his junior and senior seasons. In 2015, he was inducted in the Coastal Carolina Hall of Fame.

Joining Byrd in the move to West Lafayette is his wife, Alison, and their two daughters, Payton (6) and Avery (4).

Lauren Guiao
Women's Golf Assistant Coach

Lauren Guiao is in her first season as assistant coach for Purdue Women's Golf, hired by head coach Zack Byrd in July 2022. After four years as a student-athlete (2017-21) and having earned two degrees from Purdue University, Guiao returns to alma mater as a coach.

Competing as a Boilermaker, Guiao appeared in 20 tournaments over her four-year career, totaling 55 rounds. While playing for Purdue, she realized a passion for coaching and student-athlete development, which led to prioritizing a strong culture within the team. During her junior campaign, she shot 71 (-1) at the Illini Women’s Invitational and at the UCF Challenge for the lowest rounds of her career. Guiao recorded a pair of top-five finishes, tying for fourth at the 2017 Dayton Fall Invitational and placing fifth at the 2019 Lady Boilermaker Classic. She excelled in the classroom as well, collecting Academic All-B1G accolades twice.

Guiao earned her Master of Science degree from the Krannert School of Management this past spring. While in graduate school, she assisted in operations with the John Purdue Club. In 2021, Guiao interned at KPMG Chicago in the internal audit department after getting her bachelor’s degree as an accounting major.

Guiao grew up in Chicago but graduated from Memorial High School in Evansville, Indiana before beginning her collegiate playing career at Purdue. She earned all-state honors in 2017, which included a seventh-place performance at the state championship.