Rudy Gonzalez heads into his 7th season as the Texas A&M International University head men's and women's golf coach.
During the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, the men's team finished fifth at the Heartland Conference Tournament, the best finishes in program history. Gonzalez also has four appearances in NCAA Postseason:
- 2016-2017 Men’s NCAA Super Regional in Stockton, California
- 2020 Men’s NCAA Super Regional with Parker Holekamp earning an individual bid.
- 2022 Women's NCAA West Regional (Third Place) & NCAA Division II Championship Appearance
- 2022 Men's NCAA West/South Central Regional with Mauricio Figueroa earning an individual bid
Under the tutelage of Gonzalez, Parker Holekamp was a multiple winner as a Dustdevil and made two consecutive (2018 and 2019) U.S. Amateur Championships and was named to multiple All-Conference, All-Region, and Division II All- American Honorable Mention Teams. He is the first in school history to receive these honors.
Santiago Garcia was named Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year, another first in school history.
On the Women’s side, Gonzalez also coached Yuliana Yapur to All-Conference Season (another first in school history), in 2020.
Gonzalez also stresses the importance of academics as men’s golf garnered 2018-19 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Outstanding Team Academic Award honors. Men’s golf posted a grade point average (GPA) above a 3.5 in the 2018-19 academic year. Men’s golfers, Justin Kim and Holekamp earned the title of 2018-19 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars.
On the women’s team, Gonzalez helped Débora Orieta get named to the 2018-2019 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team. The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA to make the team is 3.5.
In 2016-17, the team climbed over 100 spots in the NCAA Division II National Rankings, earning the first NCAA Regional Bid in program history. Gonzalez has revamped both golf programs, leading the women to their first tournament title in program history in February of 2017. Gonzalez would guide the women to a second tournament win at the South Padre Intercollegiate Tournament.
On the men's side, Gonzalez led TAMIU to three top-five finishes in the 2016-17 campaign. The Heartland Conference honored Gonzalez's efforts, awarding him the 2017 Heartland Conference Men's Golf Coach of the Year award.
Gonzalez, was awarded the prestigious 2021 South Texas PGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Award and was named to the 2022-23 Golf Digest Best Teacher in State list for the State of Texas. Gonzalez was selected as a U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Coach. Gonzalez earned the honor in 2013 and 2014 before earning U.S. Kids Golf Master Coach in 2015.
As an instructor, Gonzalez has a multitude of certifications and education including Level II certified by the Titleist Performance Institute, Kwon3D Level II, Forces & Motion Certified, Capto Level II, Flightscope Certified, Discover Golf Level 1 Certified, CAPTO Precision Putting Level 2 Certified, and Completed the Penn State Biomechanics of Golf Instructor Program.
His background comes from being a professional golf instructor. Gonzalez is also currently the Director of Instruction of the Laredo Country Club Golf Performance Center. He attended Cisco Junior College and graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
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Gonzalez resides in Laredo.
