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Rich Mueller
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In 2010-11, Rich Mueller begins his sixth season as the head men’s golf coach at Columbia University and his 11th year as a head coach. Doubling as the director of golf, Mueller has quickly revamped the Lions’ golf program into a prominent force within Ivy League. In his short tenure he has been responsible for four Ivy League Championships (three men, one women), two individual Ivy League Champions, four NCAA post-season appearances and 10 All-Ivy League Golfers.
This past season saw Columbia roar to its third conference championship in as many years. Clark Granum fired a final-round 67 at the famed Baltusrol Golf Course in Springfield, N.J., and helped the Lions hold on for a three-stroke victory. Granum tied for the low score by an individual through 54 holes and was named first team All-Ivy League for the third straight season. Sophomore Brendan Doyle and first-year Michael Yiu garnered second-team accolades.
In 2009, the Lions roared back from a three-stroke deficit on the final day to claim their second straight Ivy League Championship. Coincidentally, Mueller’s team advanced to the NCAA Northeast Regional of which Columbia hosted at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, NJ. Also successful off the course, the 2008-09 and 2009-10 Lions squad was also named a GCAA All-American Academic Team with a cumulative GPA above a 3.2.
In his highly-successful first year with Columbia, the golf program won three tournaments and Mueller was honored as the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The men’s team also posted its then-best finish at the Ivy League Championships since 1999, finishing a stroke behind Princeton for second place. In an interesting twist to the tournament’s conclusion, on the final hole, on the final day in the final pairing, Mueller, unearthed a Princeton players lost ball, which, if not found would have cost the Tigers their title. Sports Illustrated documented the gesture of sportsmanship in their May 2006 issue.
The following year, Mueller’s team succumbed to six-shot lead in the final round of the Ivy League Championship to finish third. However, Mueller coached then junior Chris Condello, to Columbia’s first-ever individual title golf title. Condello, who has since turned professional, went on later that spring to qualify for 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
In the 2007-08 campaign Mueller finally guided the men’s program to its first Ivy League championship since 1999 and first-ever NCAA post-season appearance. The Lions overcame a small stroke deficit in the final round to eventually win by nine strokes.
Mueller came to Columbia after spending five years as the head golf coach at New York University, where he led the program to its first two NCAA Championship appearances in 2004 and 2005. The Violets finished a best-ever 21st in 2005, after a 23rd-place finish in 2004. For his efforts, Mueller was named the University Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2004 and was selected as the Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2005 by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
Mueller’s student-athletes have also succeeded away from the course. Thus far he has produced 11 GCAA Academic-All Americans -- including rising senior Clark Granum, Columbia’s first-ever honoree -- and six Academic All-Ivy League student-athletes.
Mueller, a Class A PGA professional, is also a member of the GCAA, USGA, and the AJGA. Additionally, he has served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee GCAA All-America Scholar, NCAA Division III Men’s Golf and the ECAC Division III men’s golf committees.
An active participant in the Metropolitan Section of the PGA, Mueller is currently ranked 103rd in Section’s Points and Money List. He has competed on the assistant’s tour as well as in USGA and PGA sanctioned events.
A 1999 graduate of NYU and a four-year member of the Violets’ golf team, Mueller received the team’s “Iron Horse” Award as a junior for his consistent play, and earned team MVP honors as a senior captain. He also received a master’s degree in Higher Education administration from his alma mater in January 2005.
A native of Greenlawn, N.Y., Mueller also teaches a recreational golf class. He enjoys being a member of the squash club at Columbia and is also a musician who frequently appears in New York City venues. He and his wife Serena live on Morningside Heights near Columbia’s campus.
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Olawale and Knowlin after TD vs. Penn
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