University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Alma Mater:
- UCLA, '02
- Year at UCLA:
- 4th as Head Coach in 2026-27 (21st Overall)
- Email:
Career Highlights
• Golfweek Women’s Coach of the Year (2023-2024)
• WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year (2013-2014)
• 2011 NCAA Champion Assistant Coach
Biography
Alicia Um Holmes enters her fourth season as head coach of the UCLA women's golf program in 2026-27. She was named head coach of her alma mater on May 25, 2023, after spending the previous 17 seasons as an assistant.
Um Holmes has continued the Bruins' tradition of excellence, leading UCLA to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish at the 2023-24 NCAA Championships in her first season at the helm. Under her guidance, the Bruins have advanced to the NCAA Championships twice and captured six tournament titles.
Prior to becoming head coach, Um Holmes served as an assistant and associate head coach under UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Carrie Forsyth from 2006-23. During that span, she helped lead the Bruins to the 2011 NCAA Championship, five NCAA Regional titles and two Pac-12 Championships. Including her tenure as head coach, Um Holmes has been part of three national runner-up teams (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2023-24).
In three seasons as head coach, Um Holmes has mentored two WGCA All-Americans: First Team selection Zoe Antoinette Campos and honorable mention honoree Caroline Canales, both in 2023-24. Campos was also one of 10 finalists for the ANNIKA Award, presented annually to the nation's top female collegiate golfer.
Five Bruins have earned all-conference recognition since Um Holmes took over the program. Most recently, Kacey Ly was named the 2025-26 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned All-Big Ten First Team honors. Jen Lee joined Ly on the First Team, while Meghan Royal garnered Second Team recognition.
UCLA made its 36th NCAA Tournament appearance and recorded six top-five finishes during the 2025-26 season. The Bruins captured their lone title of the year at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge, defeating a 16-team field that featured six Top-25 programs by more than 11 strokes.
Three Bruins enjoyed breakout campaigns in 2025-26. Ly paced UCLA with a 72.56 scoring average and four top-five finishes, all coming during the spring season. Lee ranked second on the team with a 72.60 scoring average and collected the first three top-10 finishes of her career, highlighted by her first collegiate victory at the Windy City Classic. Jennifer Seo broke into the starting lineup during the spring and led the Bruins at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, tying for 18th.
In 2024-25, UCLA advanced to the NCAA Championships after an unlikely postseason run. The Bruins placed seventh at their first Big Ten Championship to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a .500 winning percentage (65-64-1). Strong opening rounds at the NCAA Charlottesville Regional gave UCLA a 10-stroke cushion above the cut line and propelled the Bruins to nationals. Earlier in the spring, UCLA claimed its first victory of the season at the Bruin Wave Invitational and later placed fourth at the PING/ASU Invitational. Freshman Francesca Fiorellini earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors.
Um Holmes enjoyed a remarkable debut season in 2023-24, guiding UCLA to a national runner-up finish, four tournament victories and numerous individual accolades. She was named Golfweek Women's Coach of the Year and was a finalist for WGCA National Coach of the Year.
UCLA captured its first title under Um Holmes at the Windy City Classic, her second tournament as head coach. The Bruins defeated nine Top-25 teams and posted a 54-hole score of 32-under 832, tying the lowest mark in program history. UCLA later won three consecutive events – The Match in the Desert, the Nanea Pac-12 Preview and The Show – giving the program four victories for the season, its most since 2017-18.
The Bruins' postseason run culminated in a trip to the NCAA Championship match after advancing through match play. UCLA defeated Texas A&M, 3-0-2, in the quarterfinals and Oregon, 3-1-1, in the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Stanford, 3-2, in the finals. The finish marked the fifth national runner-up result in program history.
Six of UCLA's eight golfers recorded multiple top-10 finishes in 2023-24. Campos, a consensus First Team All-American and ANNIKA Award finalist, led the team in scoring average (70.72), victories (four), top-10 finishes (nine), top-20 finishes (10), rounds under par (21) and counting-round percentage (32 of 32) for a second straight year. Her four wins tied the UCLA single-season record, while her 21 rounds under par established a new program mark. Canales earned WGCA Honorable Mention All-America recognition for the first time in her career and went 3-0-0 in match play at the NCAA Championships. Campos earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors, while Canales, Royal and Kate Villegas received honorable mention recognition.
Over Um Holmes' 20 years on staff, UCLA has produced two ANNIKA Award winners – Alison Lee (2014) and Bronte Law (2016) – and two WGCA Players of the Year in Law (2016) and Lilia Vu (2018). Eleven Bruins have combined for 22 WGCA First Team All-America honors during her tenure. Since Um Holmes joined the staff in 2006, no program captured more Pac-10/12 Golfer of the Year awards than UCLA, as Tiffany Joh, Lee, Law and Vu won the honor five times. UCLA's four Pac-10/12 Newcomer of the Year awards during that span ranked second among schools in the conference.
Several golfers recruited and coached by Um Holmes and Forsyth have gone on to successful professional careers. Current LPGA players with UCLA ties include Law, Lee, Vu, Brianna Do, Ryann O'Toole and Patty Tavatanakit. Tavatanakit became the first Bruin since Melissa "Mo" Martin in 2014 to win a major championship when she captured the 2021 Chevron Championship.
Vu enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2023, rising to No. 1 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings and earning Rolex Player of the Year honors after winning four LPGA Tour events, including major titles at the Chevron Championship and AIG Women's Open. She has recorded five career LPGA victories and earned more than $7 million in prize money.
Five golfers from the Um Holmes-Forsyth era have represented their countries at the Olympic Games. Most recently, four Bruins competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics: Emma Spitz (Austria), Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia) and Lilia Vu (United States). Competing in her final event as a professional, Uribe posted the highest Olympic finish by a Bruin with a tie for 10th place.
Beginning with her first season as an assistant in 2006, Um Holmes and Forsyth led UCLA to five consecutive top-three finishes at both the conference championships and NCAA Regionals. The Bruins also placed among the top three nationally in four of those five seasons. During her tenure as an assistant and associate head coach, Um Holmes helped UCLA capture 54 tournament titles and coached 32 All-Pac-12 First Team selections.
Following the 2013-14 season, Um Holmes was named the WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year. That season, the Bruins won the NCAA Regional in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and finished third at the NCAA Championships.
A four-year letterwinner at UCLA from 1998-2002, Um Holmes played one season under UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Jackie Steinmann and three seasons under Forsyth before graduating with a degree in economics. She earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors as a senior in 2002 after tying for 12th at the Pac-10 Championship. Um Holmes posted a career-best 75.7 scoring average over 32 rounds and recorded three top-20 finishes during her final season. In her collegiate career, she made 37 starts, played 107 rounds and compiled a 77.2 scoring average.
Prior to joining the UCLA coaching staff, Um Holmes worked in the hospitality and golf industries, as well as for an information systems company. In 2005, she competed on the West Coast Ladies Golf Tour, qualified for the Futures Tour and participated in LPGA Qualifying School.
Um Holmes played three seasons at Newbury Park High School before transferring to Westlake High School for her senior year and graduating in 1997. She captured the 1996 SCGA Junior Match Play Championship and competed in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championships in 1997 and 1999.
Um Holmes married Steve Holmes in June 2008, and the couple resides in Simi Valley.
Alicia Um Holmes’ Year-by-Year UCLA Head Coaching Record
| Season | Events | Team Wins | Top 5’s | Individual Wins | Conf. Finish | Regionals Finish | NCAA Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4th (Pac-12) | 4th | T-6th (Stroke Play)/2nd (Match Play) |
| 2024-25 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7th (Big Ten) | 5th | 12th (Stroke Play) |
| 2025-26 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | T-5th (Big Ten) | 6th | -- |
| Totals | 36 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 0 Conf. Titles | 3 Regionals App. | 2 NCAA App. |
