NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the ninth consecutive possible season, Vanderbilt will play for a national championship when it tees off Friday at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Vandy, the No. 1 seed in the 30-team field and No. 1-ranked team in the nation, is scheduled to go off the 10th tee at 1:30 p.m. CT Friday as it begins its quest for its first national title in program history.
“I’m pumped for our guys to have this opportunity this week,” Vandy head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “I believe they are well-prepared and excited to get started. As a coach, I just want them to trust themselves and let the game come to them.
“We cannot tee off worried about the outcome of the week. We have to be strong enough mentally to block the noise and go play with toughness and focus required to do the simple things really well.”
The Commodores have been steady thus far in the postseason having finished second at the SEC Championships in April and second at the Auburn Regional earlier this month. Vanderbilt’s regular season included wins at the Frederica Cup, East Lake Cup, John Hayt Invitational, Watersound Invitational, Cabo Collegiate and Mason Rudolph for what has amounted to the best campaign in program history.
Vandy is making its 12th appearance at the NCAA Championships. It needs to be among the top 15 teams at the end of Sunday’s round to advance to Monday and inside the top eight that day to advance to match play which begins Tuesday and ends with Wednesday’s final. The Dores have advanced to match play in each of its last three NCAA Championships appearances.
Last season Vanderbilt lost to Texas in the semifinals.
“I think it helps that we’ve seen the course the last couple of years so there shouldn’t be a ton of surprises. It is certainly a challenging course that rewards patience, ball control and discipline,” Limbaugh said. “Every one of our guys have stepped up in big moments all year and throughout their careers at Vandy.
“We have six guys here we believe in and I’m excited to see who steps up this week to lift up the team. I hope we have a ton of black and gold supporters here this week because it really gives our guys a lot of energy.”
Limbaugh’s lineup will once again feature Gordon Sargent (the defending national champion), William Moll, Cole Sherwood, Matthew Riedel and Reid Davenport. That quintet has combined for six individual wins this season.
Jackson Van Paris will also be present to…
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