Directing the Swanson Cal Poly Golf Program’s ascendance, Phil Rowe is in his fifth year as head coach of the Mustangs men’s program.

Named Cal Poly head coach on June 1, 2020 following seven years as an assistant coach and associate head coach at UNLV, Rowe has led the Mustangs to third-place finishes at the Big West Championship in three of his first four years.

The Mustangs closed the 2023-24 season with Joey Zambri and Baron Szeto tied for fourth at the Big West Championship. Szeto earned a third All-Big West honor alongside Zambri and Ben Quick with Cal Poly’s three selections the program’s highest since 2016. With five top-10 tournament finishes last season, Cal Poly broke a 16-year-old program record for lowest team score over 54 holes with a combined 826 at California’s Alister Mackenzie Invitational.

Cal Poly’s third-place showing at the 2023 Big West Championship was powered in large part by Szeto, who claimed a share of first place atop the final leaderboard. The Mustangs closed Rowe’s initial 2020-21 season just five shots off of a runner-up finish at the Big West Championship.

With Rowe as head coach, Cal Poly inaugurated the $2 million Mustang Golf Academy at Dairy Creek Golf Course in April 2021. Cal Poly has also established an annual fall home tournament under Rowe that draws nationally-ranked competition to the prestigious Preserve Golf Club in Carmel Valley, Calif.

Joining UNLV as an assistant coach in 2014 and promoted to associate head coach in 2017, Rowe was instrumental in helping UNLV return to the top of the Mountain West with the program capturing the 2016 conference championship – its first in 14 years. UNLV again won the conference title in 2017 before capturing the NCAA Championship West Lafayette Regional title. UNLV then reached the Elite Eight at the 2016 NCAA Championship.

With Rowe, UNLV won a third successive Mountain West crown in 2018 before finishing 19th at the NCAA Championship. UNLV also finished 20th nationally in 2019 as Rowe coached two UNLV standouts – John Oda and Shintaro Ban – to All-America first team honors while Harry Hall earned selection to both the Walker Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup teams.

Prior to UNLV, Rowe spent four years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Stanford.

A three-year letterwinner for the Cardinal (1999-02), Rowe returned to Stanford after eight years of competition on various world tours, including five in France. He captured four worldwide tournament titles as a professional – twice prevailing at the Open de La Réunion – and was ranked ninth by the Allianz Golf Tour in 2009.

Rowe also was the attached touring professional golfer for the Trevose Golf & Country Club near Padstow in his native Cornwall, England.

As a player at Stanford, Rowe was a two-time Academic All-America selection, the program’s captain as a senior and led the Cardinal in scoring during the 2001 (72.8) and 2002 (71.8) seasons. He captured the 2002 U.S. Intercollegiate Championship held at Stanford and earned All-America honorable mention recognition as a senior.

As a youth, Rowe played for the England Boys Team at age 16 and competed with the Great Britain & Ireland Boys Team in 1996 and 1997. He accumulated 30 team match caps for the England Men's Team.

In 1999, Rowe teamed with future PGA stars Luke Donald and Paul Casey on the victorious Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team that defeated the United States at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland. Rowe won all three of his matches to help secure the team win.

Rowe was also a four-time Palmer Cup team member. In 2000, he helped lead Great Britain & Ireland to victory by sinking the deciding putt on the 18th hole. He also competed in the 2000 British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

As an assistant coach at Stanford, he helped lead the team to a NCAA Championship semifinals in 2014 with a team also boasting the individual national champion (Cameron Wilson) and national player of the year (Patrick Rodgers). That Cardinal squad recorded seven team victories (in just 12 entries) while Rodgers and Wilson combined to win an incredible nine individual tournament titles.

Stanford’s team and individual championships increased each year during Rowe’s time as an assistant coach and he helped lead eight student-athletes to All-America selection with a further eight earning All-America scholar-athlete recognition.

Rowe served as men’s coach of the International Team for the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup at Golf Club de Genéve (Switzerland) with his side defeating the United States, 33-27.

He also served as Europe’s Palmer Cup assistant coach in 2013 at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club and in 2014 at Walton Heath (London). He assisted the 2014 squad to an 18.5-11.5 victory against the United States. 

Rowe earned a degree in psychology from Stanford in 2002. He is married to Claire and they have three children.

Still holding his own on the course, Rowe regained amateur status in 2016 and won the Southern Nevada Amateur Championship by two shots. In 2018, he competed in the South Beach International and The Sunnehanna, making the cut in both highly-ranked amateur events.