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Linda Gaudi enters her seventh season as the head men's golf coach at George Mason. One of just a handful of women coaching NCAA Division I men's golf teams, she has shaped a tradition of success, with individuals striving to stand out in the Colonial Athletic Association as well as assisting with players carving a niche in the amateur and professional world. Gaudi guided the Patriots to arguably one of its most successful fall seasons in school history to begin the 2005-06 season. The Patriots finished the season ranked 3rd in the Mid-Atlantic after winning two tournaments, placing runner-up in two other tournaments in only five tournaments. The last time a Mason golf team was ranked in the Top 5 was during the 1996 season when they were ranked third and the last time the team won two tournaments in a season was during the 2000-01 campaign. Mason continually finds itself placing in the Top 5 in tournaments each season under Gaudi. In 2001-02, she led the team to four top-five finishes in 11 events, resulting in an NCAA District II ranking of sixth, which was Mason's highest finish since ranking third in 1996. During the 2000-01 season, she guided the Patriots to five Top-five finishes in 10 events, including two team tournament titles. She directed the Patriots to a fourth-place showing at the CAA Tournament, tying the 1989 team for the highest finish ever. Gaudi has been a key factor in bringing the George Mason golf team to the forefront of the CAA elite and to another berth in the NCAA Regionals. She guided Carlos Rosario, a senior in 2001 who rolled in a CAA tournament record nine birdies in the final round en route to a six-under par 66, to the CAA individual title (78-71-66=215). Rosario won the tournament by three strokes, becoming the first George Mason golfer to ever capture the CAA individual championship. Under her tutelage, golf standout Craig Mason, who was the top Mason player each of his four seasons (2000-04), was selected to the All-CAA team four times, and is the first Patriot ever named to the PING/Golf Coaches Association of America Mid-Atlantic All-Region team; an honor he received following his sophomore through senior seasons. Mason has also garnered other accolades, including being named to the All-Virginia men's golf team for three consecutive seasons (2001, 2002 and 2003). This past summer, two standout golfers currently in the program played in prestigious amateur tournaments. Senior Mike Kirby played in the U.S. Amateur and Junior Nick DeSimone earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Gaudi, a PGA and LPGA professional and member of the Golf Coaches Association of America, has been teaching golf for over 18 years. In 1998, she served as the head coach of McLean High School's golf team, where she led the Highlanders to a school-best 5-2 record in her first season. She has also been working as an assistant golf professional at the Country Club of Fairfax, the home golf course of the Patriots. A 1981 graduate of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Gaudi has worked at golf clubs throughout Pennsylvania, California and Virginia. She turned professional in 1984, and placed seventh in the LPGA Teaching Division Sectional Tournament in 1990. She has participated in several golf tours, including the 1991 LPGA Tour, competing in the Phar-Mor Classic. In the fall of 2001, Gaudi competed in the First Union Betsy King Classic for the second consecutive season. She was named the Northeast Section LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Division 1999 Professional of the Year and the 2000 and 2005 Northeast Section LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Division Coach of the Year. Gaudi resides in nearby Centreville, Va. -THE GAUDI RECORD- Year Trns Avg. Top-5 Titles CAAs District Rank 1999-00 10 77.4 1 0 8th 11th 2000-01 10 75.6 5 2 4th 9th 2001-02 11 76.8 4 0 7th 6th 2002-03 10 74.8 2 0 7th 13th 2003-04 11 75.9 2 0 7th 13th 2004-05 10 76.5 1 0 7th 14th Fall 2005 5 73.8 4 2 -- 3rd |
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