Ross Randall

Ross Randall, 71, formerly of Lawrence, died on April 21, 2017, at his home in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was born July 12, 1945, in New Haven, Conn., the son of Rev. Francis and Martha Townsend Randall and spent his early years in Alameda, Calif. He played golf for San Jose State University and was the first recipient of the Ken Venturi scholarship in 1964. He was named first­ team Collegiate All­ American in 1967, in a class of six that included PGA standouts Johnny Miller and Hale Irwin.
Ross served as an assistant golf professional at Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, NY, under the tutelage of Claude Harmon, winner of the 1948 Masters, before joining the PGA tour where he competed for eight years. In 1976, he became the head golf professional at Ames Golf and Country Club, Ames, Iowa.
In 1979, he moved to Lawrence, Kan., and was part of the University of Kansas men’s golf program for three decades, including 28 years as head coach.
Ross guided seven KU teams to the NCAA Championships and 19 to NCAA Regionals. From 1981­1984 he doubled as both the women’s and men’s golf coach. He was named Big­Eight Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1993 and NCAA District V Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1996. His 1989 men’s squad was the first Kansas team to reach the NCAA Finals in 32 years, and his 1996 team advanced to the final two rounds of the NCAA Championships, the second­best finish in Kansas history.
In 1999, he took the fifth­seeded Jayhawks into the Big 12 Conference Championship and captured the program’s first league title in 49 years. For his efforts that season, he was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Ross served as the captain of the 2000 Arnold Palmer Cup, an annual team golf competition between American and European collegiate golfers.
Ross coached five All­ Americans during his tenure with the Jayhawks, including three two­time All­American selections: Chris Thompson, Ryan Vermeer and Chris Marshall. He also helped develop 27 all­conference selections, including 2007 graduate Gary Woodland, who is competing on the PGA Tour.
His players went on to win the Kansas Amateur Match Play Championship 15 times.
In 2007, Ross stepped down as men’s golf coach and became KU’s Director of Golf Operations until he retired in June 2009.
Ross touched more than the lives of the players on his teams. His annual Jayhawk Golf Camp, which began in 1980, introduced the game to hundreds of aspiring young golfers.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame.
Ross is survived by his wife of 44 years Linda Leininger Randall, who remains in the home. Other survivors include his sister, Paula Westbrook, and sisters­in­ law Nancy Wahl, Betsy Leininger, Carrie DeLaPena, Sarah Oloughlin, Diana Garno and Amy Tripp.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to University of Kansas Men’s Golf.
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