A six-time conference and five-time Virginia State Coach of the Year, Dr. Murray Rudisill is in his 50th season as the head coach of Old Dominion's men's golf program in 2024-25. During his tenure, the Monarch program has grown into one of the top-rated teams in the Southeast.
The Monarchs competed in 10 tournaments during the 2023-24 season and posted seven Top-10 finishes, to include five tournaments where they finished in the Top 5. ODU started off their fall by placing fifth at Davidson's River Run Collegiate, then came in seventh at ECU's Ironwood Classic and tied for ninth at the Elon Phoenix Invitational. The team then capped off the fall with a runner-up finish at their home tournament, the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate at Kilmarlic Golf Club. In the spring, Rudisill guided the program to a pair of third-place finishes at George Mason's Donald Ross Collegiate Classic and at the Cutter Creek Intercollegiate, co-hosted by Elon and ECU. The team also took fourth at App State's Irish Creek Collegiate.
The 2022-23 season saw the Monarchs compete in 10 tournaments as ODU turned in six Top-10 finishes and one Top-5 finish. The team's best outing was at ECU's Cutter Creek Invitational, where the Monarchs took third out of 10 teams with a 19-over par 883. Jakob Chicoyne had the best individual finish of the year, shooting a 13-under 203 to tie for third at the VCU Shootout.
ODU had five Top-5 finishes as a team during the 2021-22 season. The Monarchs placed fifth at the VCU Shootout and ODU/OBX Intercollegiate and tied for fifth at the River Run Collegiate. During the spring, the team finished fourth at the Southern Invitational and third at the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate. On the individual side, Filip Wetterqvist tied for fifth at the VCU Shootout after shooting a seven-under par 209. Gustav Fransson's eight-under 208 tied him for third at the Georgia State Invitational and Jakob Henriksson carded a seven-over 220 at the Golden Horseshoe Invitational to tie for fourth. Fransson tied for fifth at the C-USA Championship at two-under 214 and added All-Tournament Team honors.
Rudisill guided a pair of Monarchs in Jakob Henriksson and Carter Morgan to medalist honors in the spring of 2021, giving ODU multiple medalists in the same season for the first time since 2009-10. Henriksson became the first ODU freshman to win an event since 2016 when he won by six strokes at the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate. The following week, Morgan surged in the final round to finish tied for first and share medalist honors. Morgan capped off the year by receiving Second Team All-State recognition from VaSID. Gustav Fransson placed inside the top-five at the Conference USA Championship, earning all-tournament team honors for the second time in his career. As a team, the Monarchs notched a pair of top-three finishes, including a runner-up result at the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate.
In 2019-20, Rudisill led the Monarchs to six top-10 finishes as a team. To highlight the shortened season for ODU, senior Carter Morgan finished atop the leaderboard at the VCU Invitational with a 13-under par to lead the Old Dominion men's golf team to a first-place finish. At the Monarchs’ annual home tournament, ODU took a runner-up finish behind North Dakota State, while Gustav Fransson and Rasmus Konradsson placed in the top-five. Fransson posted a team-best 70.56 average round score that season, good for 51st in the nation among Division I golfers and earned four top-10 finishes and was named Second Team All-Conference USA. Adding to that, Fransson and Chris Ayers were recognized on the VaSID All-State Team.
In 2018-19, the Monarchs recorded a pair of top-five finishes, including a third-place finish at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate.
In 2017-18, the Monarchs notched a pair of third-place finishes, including at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate at Kilmarlic Golf Club. ODU then placed seventh at the C-USA Championship.
ODU men’s golf was named a GCAA All-Academic Team in 2015 under Rudisill’s guidance, and the Monarchs tied for sixth at the C-USA Championships.
In 2009, Eric Onesi earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional.
In 2008, Onesi finished second at the prestigious Eastern Amateur, and Jeffrey Long placed seventh at the Virginia State Open.
In 2007 the Monarchs captured the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA East Regional. Rudisill was named Coach of the Year in the CAA and state of Virginia. During the summer of 2007, Onesi and Stan Guerrero competed in the prestigious USGA Amateur Championships in San Francisco.
In 2003, ODU captured their first ever CAA championship with a sudden-death playoff win over UNC Wilmington. That earned the Monarchs their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance as a team. The Monarchs tied for 15th at the West Regionals. Geoffrey Harris was named CAA Player of the Year for the second-straight time and also earned All-Region honors. Harris was also one of five finalists for the prestigious Byron Nelson Award.
Rudisill earned CAA Coach of the Year honors in 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2007 along with Coach of the Year honors in the Sun Belt in 1984 and 1989. He was selected Virginia College Coach of the Year by the Portsmouth Sports Club in 1988, and his fellow coaches in the State of Virginia have selected him Coach of the Year in 1988, 2000, 2003 and 2004 and 2007.
Rudisill has served on the board of Directors for the Virginia State Golf Association, and is serving his fourth, five-year term as chairman of the Virginia State Golf Coaches Association. Additionally, he has served as chairman for the selection committee for the NCAA Golf District III. Rudisill is a member of the board of trustees of College Golf Fellowship.
Two of Rudisill's former golfers, Jim McGovern and Joe Daley, qualified for the PGA tour in 1998. In 1991, Jon Hurst became the first Monarch to qualify at the NCAA Division I Championships in Monterey, Calif. and earned All-American honors. Hurst and Alan Schulte, a two-time Sun Belt Conference champion, are both in the ODU Sports Hall of Fame.
Rudisill has coached back-to-back CAA Rookies of the Year in Michael Hospodar in 1999 and Geoffrey Harris in 2000. The 1999 Monarch squad ranked first in the nation in par three scoring at 3.11. The 2000 squad lost the CAA Championships by one stroke and ranked in the top-10 in the district and the nation's top 50.
In 2002, Geoffrey Harris ranked as high as second nationally with a stroke average at 70.0 after the fall season and later competed in the prestigious Palmer Cup for native Great Britain against team USA.
Strengthening his reputation as an excellent golfer with top performances in regional and amateur events, Rudisill has teamed with Old Dominion Hall of Fame golfer J.P.Leigh to win over 50 tournaments in the area.
A native of Gastonia, N.C., Rudisill is a 1960 graduate of North Carolina State University where he was a member of the golf team. Rudisill earned his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina and moved to Hampton Roads and the Tidewater Community College System in 1968. He was awarded a doctorate in curriculum/instruction from the University of Florida in 1972 and joined the Old Dominion faculty that same year. He retired from teaching in May of 2004.
RUDISILL'S COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS
1984 Sun Belt
1988 The State of Virginia
1989 Sun Belt
1999 CAA
2000 CAA & State of Virginia
2003 CAA & State of Virginia
2004 State of Virginia
2007 CAA & State of Virginia
TEAM AND CONFERENCE TITLES
1984 Virginia State Champions
1986 Virginia State Champions
1992 Virginia State Champions
1993 Virginia State Champions
2003 CAA Champions & T15th at NCAA West Regionals
2007 CAA Champions & 22nd at NCAA East Regionals