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 on UCLA's staff as an assistant and associate head coach.
Um Holmes has continued the Bruins' tradition of excellence, leading UCLA to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships in her first season at the helm. Under her guidance, the Bruins have advanced to the NCAA Championships twice and captured six team 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 in 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 selection 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 Division I collegiate golfer.
Seven Bruins have combined for eight all-conference selections since Um Holmes took over the program. Most recently, Kacey Ly was named the 2025-26 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned first-team All-Big Ten 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, finishing 11 strokes ahead of runner-up Texas and defeating each of the six top-25 opponents in the field by at least 10 strokes.
Three Bruins enjoyed breakout campaigns in 2025-26. Ly paced UCLA with a 72.54 scoring average and four top-five finishes, all during the spring season. Lee ranked second on the team with a 72.60 scoring average and recorded three top-10 finishes, highlighted by her first collegiate victory at the Windy City Collegiate Classic. Jennifer Seo broke into the starting lineup during the spring and led the Bruins at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, tying for 13th.
In 2024-25, UCLA advanced to the NCAA Championships following a late-season postseason push. The Bruins placed seventh at their first Big Ten Championship and met the NCAA's .500 winning-percentage requirement with a 65-64-1 head-to-head record. Strong opening rounds at the NCAA Charlottesville Regional gave UCLA a 10-stroke cushion above the cut line entering the final round and helped propel 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 second-team All-Big Ten 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 Collegiate Classic, her second tournament as head coach. The Bruins prevailed in a field featuring nine top-25 teams and posted a 54-hole score of 32-under 832, tying the program record. UCLA later won three consecutive events: The Match in the Desert, the Nanea Pac-12 Preview and The Show. The four victories were the program's most in a season since 2017-18.
The Bruins' postseason run culminated in a trip to the NCAA Championship match after they advanced 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 final. 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) and rounds under par (21). She also posted a 100% counting-round rate (32 of 32) for the second consecutive year. Her four victories tied the UCLA single-season record, while her 21 rounds under par established a program record.
Canales earned WGCA honorable mention All-America recognition for the first time in her career and went 3-0 in match play at the NCAA Championships. Campos earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors, while Canales, Royal and Kate Villegas received honorable mention recognition.
During Um Holmes' first 20 seasons on staff, UCLA produced two ANNIKA Award winners in Alison Lee (2014) and Bronte Law (2016) and two PING WGCA Players of the Year in Law (2016) and Lilia Vu (2018). Eleven Bruins combined for 22 WGCA first-team All-America honors during that span. Since Um Holmes joined the staff in 2006, no program has captured more Pac-10/12 Golfer of the Year awards than UCLA. Tiffany Joh, Alison Lee, Law and Vu combined to win the honor five times. UCLA's four Pac-10/12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year awards during that span ranked second among conference schools.
Several golfers recruited and coached by Um Holmes and Forsyth have gone on to successful professional careers. Current LPGA Tour players with UCLA ties include Law, Alison 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 ANA Inspiration.
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 the AIG Women's Open. She has recorded five career LPGA Tour victories and earned more than $7 million in official 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 2024 Paris Olympics: Emma Spitz (Austria), Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia) and Lilia Vu (United States). Competing in her final event as a professional, Uribe recorded the highest Olympic finish by a Bruin, tying for 10th.
Beginning with her first season as an assistant in 2006-07, 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 at the NCAA Championships 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 first-team all-conference 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, Okla., 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 honorable mention All-Pac-10 recognition 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. During 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 and 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 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 5s | Indiv. Wins | Conf. Finish | Regionals Finish | NCAA Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4th (Pac-12) | 4th | 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. |