SAN ANTONIO – While it might not be the Alamo, the Vanderbilt men’s golf team will remember the final round of play at the Valero Texas Collegiate. The No. 3-ranked Commodores carded a remarkable 12-under 276 in Round 3 to erase a 3-stroke deficit and storm back to win the tournament’s team title.
Entering Monday’s third round, Vanderbilt found itself in third place but only trailed leader TCU by three strokes. The Horned Frogs still held a 3-stroke lead over the Dores approaching the back nine, but that was when Vandy began its comeback trail.
The Commodores shot an impressive 10-under as a team on the back nine to end the day at 12-under 276 and posted a 5-stroke victory over TCU to claim their first team title of the 2023-24 campaign. It is the first team win for Vandy since capturing first place at the Mason Rudolph Championship last spring, while it is the 36th team tournament title the Commodores have won under head coach Scott Limbaugh.
“We got off to a better start today, which I thought was big,” said Limbaugh. “We were right there going into the back nine, but we had to make some things happen. I thought the No. 12 hole was big for us. Gordon had birdied 11 and then our next four guys all birdied No. 12. Our guys were calm and composed under pressure and I’m super proud of them.
Jackson really found his rhythm with his swing and made some huge putts. A lot of our guys weren’t feeling great this week, but they battled through it. It was nice to see Gordon finish the way he did. He made a 25-foot putt on his last hole and that was huge for us.”
Graduate student Matthew Riedel led the comeback charge for Vanderbilt, as the All-American carded a season-best 6-under 66 in Round 3 to move up 19 spots on the player leaderboard and end the tournament in a tie for fifth. Riedel turned it up a notch on the back nine of the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, as he collected five birdies over his final eight holes to finish the tournament at 4-under 212.
“Matthew’s effort today was huge for our team,” said Limbaugh of Riedel’s play. “We struggled yesterday as a team, and as a coach, you’re always looking for guys to step up, stay positive, and not be negative. I’m really proud of Matthew. He stayed positive with everybody and got in good practice with his golf swing yesterday afternoon. I think Matthew’s positive outlook really allowed him to finish the way that he did today. That says a lot about who he…
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