This story was originally published Aug. 26, 2010.

Western announced on Thursday the hiring of Phillip Hatchett as the Toppers’ full-time men’s golf coach.

Hatchett is a 1985 Western graduate and four-year member of the golf team. He’s holds 14 years of PGA experience and has been instructing golf for 24 years.

In a university release, Hatchett said he’s looking forward to getting Western’s golf squad on top of the Sun Belt Conference.

“The student-athletes on this team are going to be a great group to work with, and I look forward to getting started with them,” Hatchett said.

In a letter sent out to Western’s donors and media earlier this month, Director of Athletics Ross Bjork stated the hiring of full-time golf coaches as one of his preliminary goals. Bjork said in the release that along with Hatchett’s experience, the first-year coach should bring with him golf contacts that will allow Western to “compete at the sport’s highest level.”

“As a WKU graduate, Phillip is the ideal individual to impact our men’s program in a manner that results in WKU golf achieving the level of success it deserves,” Bjork said.

Hatchett, who played alongside PGA veteran and former Western golfer Kenny Perry, won nine tournaments on the foreign PGA tour from 1986-2000. He inherits a Western squad that finished seventh in last season’s Sun Belt Championships.