ST ANDREWS, Scotland — Vanderbilt women’s golf fell 4-2 to North Carolina in the championship match of the inaugural St Andrews Links Collegiate on Wednesday at the St Andrews Links Old Course.
“What a cool experience for our girls today,” said head coach Greg Allen. “It’s something they will never forget.”
The two Commodores to win their individual stroke-play matchups were sophomores Lynn Lim and Tillie Claggett. Lim—finishing with a 3-over 75—defeated her opponent by two strokes. Claggett won her match by five strokes with a score of 75 also.
Individual runner-up Ava Merrill battled with tournament champion Kayla Smith of UNC all day before falling by two strokes in the end. Merrill carded a 76. Virginie Ding notched a 78 but was defeated by the Tar Heels’ Reagan Southerland. Sara Im and Charlene Chung shot 78 and 83, respectively, in dropping their matches.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have our best stuff, but I’m really proud of the fight they showed,” said Allen. “We definitely got to experience Scottish weather on the Old Course, so it made things really tough at times. But that will just add to the many memories we were able to make this week.”
The St Andrews Links Collegiate concludes the fall season for the team. This tournament is Vanderbilt’s third time in a row finishing on the podium. The Commodores never finished outside the top four as a team during the fall season.
Vanderbilt women’s golf will will next tee off in official competition in early February at the FAU Paradise Invitational, a tournament the Dores won last spring by 25 strokes.
“We are grateful and appreciative to the tournament organizers, sponsors and to [director of athletics] Candice [Storey Lee] and our athletic administration for allowing us to be a part of this inaugural and historic event,” said Allen.
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