Billy Tuten
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- Title:
- Head Coach
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- Phone:
- 713-525-3821
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- Email:
- tutenw@stthom.edu
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- Year:
- 6
Billy Tuten took the reins of the University of St. Thomas golf teams for the 2016 spring season.
The 2019-20 season saw Tuten guide the Celts golf teams in their transition to the NCAA’s Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The season ended abruptly in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, the next spring when athletic activities were able to return, Tuten led the program through their first full year in the SCAC. With multiple all-conference golfers, the Celts were able to leave their mark and pave the way for 2021-22 season.
Tuten came to UST from nearby St. Thomas High School, where he spent a decade as the head golf coach. Under Tuten’s leadership, the Eagles were consistently among the top teams among Texas private schools, winning the state TAPPS championship in 2012. The team finished second in the state in 2014, and third in 2015.
A native of Houston, Tuten was a standout golfer at the University of Houston and enjoyed a lengthy professional career. He was a four-year letterwinner at UH, while twice being named an All-American. In 1982, Tuten and the Cougars won the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship.
Tuten’s professional career three years on the PGA Tour from 1989 to 1991. He made his first appearance at the Masters as an amateur in 1984, shortly before turning professional. He also competed at the U.S. Open three times (1990, ’91, and ’93).
Over the course of his career, Tuten won 25 mini-tour events on various professional tours. He also spent 12 years as a golf instructor while still playing full-time.
A two-time US Amateur Public Links champion, Tuten still finds time for competitive golf. In 2017, while coaching UST’s golf team, Tuten qualified for that year’s U.S. Senior Open after shooting a 4-under-par 68 at a Qualifier at Meadows Golf Club in Littleton, Colo.
Tuten and his wife, Holly, have two children, Blakely and Will.
