Judd Cornell - Head Coach - Men's Golf Coaches - Creighton University Athletics

Judd Cornell

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
JuddCornell@creighton.edu
Phone:
(402) 670-0104

Omaha native Judd Cornell will enter his fourth year as head men's golf coach at Creighton in 2022-23. He was named to the position on August 15, 2019 after spending the previous six seasons on the coaching staff at Nebraska, including two as an associate head coach.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Judd Cornell along with his wife Bridget to the Creighton Family," said Creighton Associate Athletic Director Mark Burgers at the time of his hiring. "Judd is a high character guy that is a tireless worker and has a broad range of experience both playing and coaching golf. He understands the values that we have in our program and the importance of developing young men both on and off the course. The future of our men's golf program is in great hands."

Cornell's first season at Creighton was cut short by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that brought a premature end to his first campaign and prevented the Bluejays from competing in four events, including the 2020 BIG EAST Championship. Despite the earlier-than-expected end to the spring, Cornell's first season was not without its successes. CU finished fourth at the Zach Johnson Invitational and had a team score of 906 or lower in 5-of-6 54-hole competitions. His team had 12 individual rounds of par or lower, with seven of those from junior Nate Vontz. Vontz led CU with a 73.40 scoring average in 2019-20, CU's best single-season scoring average since John Sutko in 2007-08.

Creighton continued to make strides in his second year, as its 296.67 scoring average per team round was the program's best mark since at least 2003. The Bluejays featured 22 rounds of par or lower, with 11 of those coming from Vontz. Vontz's 72.06 scoring average ranks second-best in program history for one season, and he finished in the top-11 in 5-of-6 events to help him become CU's second men's golfer ever to be named First Team All-BIG EAST. Charlie Zielinski had a huge freshman year, earning Second Team All-BIG EAST acclaim after averaging 73.56 strokes per round. A third Bluejay, Jackson Thompson, qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont.

The 2021-22 campaign saw CU's season scoring average drop four more shots to 292.17 per round, including the three best team rounds in program history. The Bluejays won Stampede at the Creek in October of 2021 with a 28-under score of 836, including a program-best first round aggregate of 275 (-13). Vontz won that tournament with a 19-under score of 197, including loops of 63 and 65. Vontz repeated as a First Team All-BIG EAST choice, while Zielinski repeated as a Second Team All-BIG EAST performer and was also named to the BIG EAST's All-Tournament Team after a third-place finish at the league championship. Bluejay individuals put together 49 rounds under par, including 13 from Zielinski, which helped the team to five top-five finishes. Zielinski gave CU a second US Amateur representative in a row when he qualified for the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship, to be held in Paramus, N.J., in mid-August.

Each of Cornell's first two teams earned the BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Award, a recognition given to the program with the best GPA in each league sport. CU owned a team GPA of 3.758 GPA, with 3-of-11 golfers owning a perfect 4.00 GPA in the spring.

Cornell's experience and extensive time with many of the top instructors throughout the United States played a huge role in the preparation and development on and off the course for the Husker golfers. He worked with Michael Colgate in 2015-16 when he qualified for the NCAA Regionals as an individual. In 2019 he helped assist Nebraska to its highest Big Ten finish in school history (5th), as well as its best finish at the Big Ten Match Play Championship (4th).

He is a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America and served as Tournament Director for the Git-R-Done Husker Invitational in 2019, NU's first home tournament in 12 years.

"My family and I are so excited to be back in Omaha and I can't wait to get started this season," said Cornell. "We have a very talented group of guys right now that I look forward to leading and challenge them to do great things this season and beyond. Creighton is a national brand across the board with a high standard for excellence on and off the course, and I'm honored to be representing that on a daily basis. I'd like to thank Mark Burgers and Bruce Rasmussen for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to getting to know the men on the team."

Cornell was part of Nebraska's 2007 NCAA Regional team that included current PGA Tour player Brady Schnell and PGA Tour Latino America winner, Ty Capps. He was a three-time team captain, a first-team Academic All-Big 12 and the first recipient of the Dick Spangler Memorial Scholarship for his leadership on and off the golf course. He was named 2004 Nebraska Amateur Player of the Year and competed in some of the nation's top amateur events such as the U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur and North and South Amateur. During his time as a professional, Cornell had success on multiple tours such as the Hooters Tour, Egolf, Dakotas Tour, Gateway, Web.com and Adams tour where he was named 2007 Rookie of the Year and finished top 20 on the money list.

Cornell graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2007. He is married to the former Bridget Noonan who graduated in 2008 from Creighton and is now a nurse in Omaha. His family includes his parents, Mike and Patti Cornell and his two sisters Katy and Meggie Cornell. His father Mike is Director of Instruction at Champions Run in Omaha. Mike has been named top golf instructor in the state of Nebraska and the Midwest region multiple times in more than 35 years in the golf business.