NORFOLK, Va. – Head coach of the Old Dominion men's golf team Murray Rudisill announced today the signings of Aleksander Bjørge and Kaijun Ma. The duo of international golfers will join the Monarchs ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Aleksander Bjørge | Ålesund, Norway | WANG Toppidrett
Bjørge is the reigning U19 Norwegian champion, winning the event with a score of 9-under par, and is the second-ranked golfer for his age in Norway. Additionally, the 6-foot-4 Bjørge placed third at the Srixon Tour U19 Winter Open in 2020 and received the Srixon Tour's Order of Merit in 2018. A three-time club champion, Bjørge won three times on the U15 Srixon Tour and added a trio of runner-up finishes as well. A member of Team Norway since 2018, he placed second at the European Boys Division 2 Team Championship.
Bjørge attends WANG Toppidrett in Oslo, Norway, the high school that produced former collegiate all-American and three-time PGA TOUR winner Viktor Hovland. Bjørge has won two of the past three WANG high school championships.
The current No. 5-ranked golfer in the country at the U19 level, Bjørge owns a scoring average of 73.6 and has finished a trio of tournaments under par this year.
Bjørge comes from a golfing family. His older sister, Emilie, is a sophomore on the women's golf team at Division II Tampa and is a former U15 Norwegian champion. His younger brother, Theodor, is also a former U15 Norwegian champion. Additionally, his aunt Merete Myklebust won bronze at the 1996 Olympics with the Norwegian women's soccer team.
"We are so pleased to be able to get another Scandinavian golfer in for next year," Rudisill said. "Aleksander has outstanding academic and golfing credentials. He won the Norwegian U19 National Championship this year and has played in numerous other outstanding events with great finishes. We think that Alex will be able to compete in our starting lineup right away."
Kaijun Ma | Macau, China | Meisha Academy Guangzhou
An accomplished Asian junior player, Ma joins Old Dominion from Meisha Academy Guangzhou in China. Ma won the Asian Junior Golf Association Junior All-Star in 2019 after shooting a final-round 66 and was named to the 2018-19 Junior All-Asia team.
Ma has also notched wins at the GAC Honda 2020 China Amateur, the 2020 and 2021 Guangdong Golf Club Junior Championships and the 2021 Dongguan Junior Golf Tour Station 5.
Ma is a two-sport athlete at Meisha Academy and has captained the golf and basketball teams. He was named the school's best 3-point shooter.
"Kaijun will be our second Chinese golfer to attend Old Dominion," Rudisill said. "He is a top-three ranked Chinese junior golfer. He played in a big tournament this summer and finished 10-under par for his victory. His other tournament results were also very strong. He has had outstanding academic training in an international school in China. Kaijun will be a wonderful addition to our Old Dominion squad next year, and he should have an immediate impact with the team."
Men’s Golf Signs Bjørge, Ma
