THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The No. 15-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team carded 2-under 282 in Round 1 of the Southwestern Invitational, as the Commodores ended the day in second place.
Junior Wells Williams sits in fourth place on the player leaderboard after 18 holes of play at Lake Sherwood Country Club. The West Point, Mississippi, native carded 3-under 68 in his first round of the spring. Williams collected a team-high five birdies in Round 1. The All-American warmed up at the turn, as he finished under par on Holes 10, 11, and 14.
The No. 15-ranked Commodores were one of three teams to finish under par in a loaded field at the Southwestern Invitational, which features seven teams ranked inside the top 25 of the CLIPPD rankings. Vandy finished Round 1 at 2-under 282 as a team and enters Tuesday’s Round 2 six strokes behind leader San Diego State.
“I thought for the first day of the spring it was a really solid round on a tough course,” said Scott Limbaugh, the Thomas F. Roush, M.D. and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “I was really proud of the guys because they showed a lot of toughness. Obviously, there are some things that we are going to have to do better going forward, and we will try to clean those up.”
Williams was one of four Commodores to end Day 1 of the Southwestern Invitational inside the top 25 on the player leaderboard. Senior Jackson Van Paris and sophomore Chase Nevins each carded even par 71 to sit in a tie for 16th. Van Paris matched Williams with a team-best five birdies, while Nevins finished 1-under on Holes 8-10. Junior John Broderick heads into Round 2 in a tie for 23rd after finishing 1-over 72 on Monday.
The 2022 NCAA individual champion Gordon Sargent collected an eagle during his first round of the spring, as the senior finished 2-under on the par-5 Hole 11. The senior was one of 10 golfers to card an eagle in the opening round.
“I’m really happy for Wells and how he lifted the team up. He looked in control physically and emotionally all day long,” said Limbaugh of Williams’ performance. “Also, I’m proud of Jackson’s finish and the way he responded after Hole 15. It says a lot about the kind of competitor he is. Chase and John were both also good today. Gordon is doing a lot of really good things, and we all know he’s close to playing the way he wants to.”
San Diego State sits atop the team leaderboard after 18 holes of play at the Southwestern Invitational, as the Aztecs…
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