Jason Payne, Assistant Coach

Jason Payne, the former head coach at Mercer University, is entering his second season as the assistant coach for the Georgia men’s golf team.

“We knew Jason would be able to step right in and do a great job last year, and that’s exactly what he did,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. “He’s a Georgia guy who is very familiar with our program. He’s done a great job as a coach and as a recruiter. Jason has been a great addition to our program.”

Payne helped the 2007-08 Bulldogs finish the year ranked No. 1 in the final Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index and win three tournaments. Payne helped Russell Henley, Adam Mitchell, Hudson Swafford and Harris English garner All-America and All-SEC recogntition.

Before arriving in Athens, Payne spent four seasons as Mercer’s head coach, helping the program reach new heights and improve its visibility on the national landscape.

During his tenure at Mercer, Payne helped the Bears to a program-best, fourth-place finish at the 2005 Atlantic Sun Championship. He also coached five Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars, 25 Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team honorees and one Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team selection. Under Payne’s guidance, Mercer won the 2005 Wofford Invitational while three Bears claimed individual titles.

Away from competition, Payne put Mercer on the map nationally by hosting the Linger Longer Invitational, which now is recognized as one of the country’s top events. Mercer also hosted the Atlantic Sun Championship in April 2007 at The Golf Club of Sanctuary Cove in Waverly, the first time the university hosted the event since 1995. Mercer also hosted the inaugural Brickyard Collegiate Golf Championship in October 2007 at The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon.

Payne spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern before arriving at Mercer. While in Statesboro, Payne helped guide the Eagles to two Southern Conference titles and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Regionals in 2002 and 2003. He also coached one All-American, one Scholar All-American, one Southern Conference Player of the Year, two consecutive Southern Conference Freshman of the Year picks, five All-Southern Conference selections and one Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Year.

Payne earned a bachelor’s degree in Consumer Economics from Georgia in 2001 and a master’s degree in Sport Management from Georgia Southern in 2003.

“It’s good to be back in Athens,” Payne said. “I am excited to be involved with a program that has such a history of success. Working with Coach Haack and the rest of the Athletic Association has been a great privilege.”