BELLEAIR, Fla. – A tough back nine proved to be the difference maker as Vanderbilt fell to a 10th-place finish at the SEC Women’s Golf Championship. Senior Virginie Ding led the Commodores with an even-par 210 for the weekend to finish tied for eighth individually.
The Commodores started strong on Sunday, hitting the turn at 1-under-par to sit fifth. However, the back nine saw Vanderbilt drop 11 strokes to finish at 10-over for the round. The late swoon kept the Dores out of SEC Championship match play for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
“This is definitely going to sting for a little bit,” said head coach Greg Allen. “I feel really bad for our girls because they played with a lot of heart today, but in the end we made too many big numbers this week. Our conference is way too deep for us to do that and expect to make it to match play.”
Ding carded four birdies to finish 1-over in the final round of play. Tillie Claggett, who rejoined the lineup after missing the first two rounds with an injury, joined Ding at 1-over-par to lead Vandy. Lynn Lim, Celina Sattelkau and Ava Merrill all finished at 4-over on Sunday.
“We certainly dealt with some adversity this week and I’m proud of how they handled that,” said Allen. “Sara was willing and ready to step in the first two rounds and it was nice to have Tillie back out there today.”
The Commodores will turn their attention to NCAA Regional play which is scheduled for May 6-8.
“We will use this disappointment as motivation the next couple of weeks to make sure we are ready for regionals,” said Allen.
Vanderbilt will learn its postseason destination during the NCAA Selection Show airing on Golf Channel at 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 24.
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