Ruben Sondjaja - Associate Head Coach - Men's Golf Coaches

Ruben Sondjaja

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
Ruben.Sondjaja-1@ou.edu

Ruben Sondjaja (sawnd-JEYE-uh) joined the Oklahoma men's golf program as associate head coach in July 2026 after establishing himself as one of the nation's rising coaches during successful stops at Illinois and Iowa State.

Sondjaja arrived in Norman following three seasons at Illinois, where he helped guide one of the nation's premier programs. During his tenure in Champaign, the Fighting Illini captured 12 team championships, including NCAA Regional titles in 2024 and 2025, while producing four All-Americans. Illinois also claimed the stroke-play title at the 2024 NCAA Championships before advancing to match play, with two golfers sharing runner-up medalist honors. In his final season with the Illini, the program remained ranked among the nation's top 20 throughout the year, won three tournaments and finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championship.

Prior to Illinois, Sondjaja spent three seasons on the coaching staff at Iowa State. He returned to his alma mater in 2020 as the program's graduate assistant for operations, coordinating the day-to-day operations of both the men's and women's golf programs while also serving as an assistant coach for the Cyclone women's team during the 2020-21 season. Iowa State qualified for its 11th consecutive NCAA Championship that year before Sondjaja was promoted to assistant coach for the Cyclone men's program in 2021.

As the top assistant for the Iowa State men's team, Sondjaja helped the Cyclones qualify for the 2023 NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club while assisting with player development, recruiting and all aspects of the program's daily operations.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Sondjaja was a standout student-athlete at Iowa State from 2013-17. He finished his career with the third-lowest scoring average in program history and climbed into the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Sondjaja posted two top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Championship and helped lead the Cyclones to NCAA Championship appearances in 2014 and 2017.

Following graduation, Sondjaja competed professionally on PGA Tour Canada and the PGA Tour of Australasia from 2017-19 before returning to Ames to begin his coaching career.

A three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection, Sondjaja earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from Iowa State in 2017 and completed his master's degree in accounting in 2021. He also served in several student-athlete leadership roles during his time with the Cyclones, including on Iowa State's Athletics Council and as co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Sondjaja and his wife, Noelle, live in Norman.