Danielle Downey

Danielle Downey (born December 6, 1980 in Rochester, New York; died January 30, 2014 at East Alabama Medical Center in Lee County) was a professional golfer and director of operations for the Auburn Tigers women's golf team.

Downey, who started for the boys' golf team at Spencerport High School, played for the Auburn golf team from 1999 to 2003. She was an All-American in 2000, 2002 and 2003 and won the 2000 Southeastern Conference women's golf tournament. She then joined the LPGA Futures Tour and won the 2004 Lima Memorial Hospital Futures Golf Classic and finished in the Top 10 six more times before joining the LPGA tour. As an LPGA pro, she finished in the money 15 times and tied for 4th place in the 2008 Bell Micro LPGA Classic. She continued to tour as a caddy for Sarah Kemp and Laura Diaz before returning to Auburn.

Downey joined Kim Evans' staff as director of operations in 2012. She finished her bachelor's degree in health promotion in May 2013, while serving as interim coach while Evans was treated for ovarian cancer. That year's Tigers finished sixth in the NCAA women's golf championship in Athens, Georgia.

Downey suffered fatal injuries in a single-vehicle accident on the 300 block of Lee County Road 57 in Auburn shortly after 10:00 PM on January 30. Her 2011 Hyundai Sonata flipped over several times and ejected her. She was pronounced dead on arrival from massive trauma upon arrival at the East Alabama Medical Center. The cause of the accident remains undetermined.

References

• Robinson, Carol (January 31, 2014) "Auburn University golf coach Danielle Downey killed in car crash." The Birmingham News