ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The No. 3-seeded Vanderbilt men’s golf team dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 1-seed Auburn on Sunday at Sea Island Golf Club in the title match at the 2024 SEC Men’s Golf Championship.
Auburn caught fire on the front nine to open the SEC Championship match. The Tigers were 3-up in two of their matches and 1-up in two others at the turn, while senior Cole Sherwood was 1-up in his match through nine holes.
Vanderbilt picked up the pace over its next three holes, as Sherwood and junior Jackson Van Paris moved to 2-up in their matches, while graduate student William Moll pulled even with AU’s Carson Bacha through 12 holes.
Auburn collected the first point of the championship match, as Jackson Koivun picked up a 7 & 6 victory over graduate student Matthew Riedel.
Moll found himself 2-Down through 16, as he needed to win the final two holes to extend his match. The All-American came up clutch on Hole 17, as he collected a birdie to move to 1-down going to the 18th tee. Moll ended up tying Bacha on Hole 18, as Auburn moved ahead 2-0.
Junior Jackson Van Paris mounted a huge comeback in his match against Brendan Valdes. The Pinehurst, North Carolina, native found himself 3-down through seven, but turned things around quickly as he won six-straight holes to go 3-up through 13 before claiming the 3 & 1 victory.
Senior Cole Sherwood collected a win for Vanderbilt in his final match at the SEC Championship. The All-American posted a 1-up win over J.M. Butler.
Junior Gordon Sargent attempted to come back from 4-down through 13 against Josiah Gilbert. The All-American’s efforts would fall short, as Auburn won the match 4 & 2 to claim the 2024 SEC Men’s Golf Championship.
“Give Auburn a lot of credit. We knew going in that they were a great opponent, so you tip your hat to them,” said Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh. “For whatever reason, we came out a little bit flat today. That is my fault, and I take ownership of that. Just emotionally, I think yesterday took a lot out of us. We have to grow from this and keep learning about how we feel in these moments. I know our team will. I’m proud of them, I thought they battled.
“I’m really proud of Jackson for going 3-0 at his first SEC Championship. Certainly, Cole was right where we wanted him to be today. We wanted the ball in his hands with the clock going down, but we didn’t quite get it to him. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready for…
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