NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of Commodores captured medalist honors on Friday, as Vanderbilt men’s golf sophomore Ryan Downes won the 117th Massachusetts Amateur and Vandy alumnus Harrison Ott took first place at the 76th Tennessee State Open.
Downes earned medalist honors at the Massachusetts Amateur for the second time in three years. He posted a 7 & 6 victory over Patrick Kilcoyne of Gettysburg College in the 36-hole championship match at GreatHorse Country Club, Downes’ home course. With the win at the Massachusetts Amateur, Downes qualifies for the 2026 U.S. Amateur, which takes place Aug. 11-17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
The sophomore becomes the first person to win the event twice before the age of 20, as Downes also captured medalist honors in 2023 at the age of 17 to make him the youngest Massachusetts Amateur champion in the history of the event.
Ott, who golfed for the Commodores from 2017-22, used a strong back nine to post a come-from-behind victory at the Tennessee State Open. He won the event with a three-round score of 12-under 201. Ott was three shots off the lead at the turn in Friday’s finale before collecting three birdies and six pars over his final nine holes of play at the Grassland Club’s Foxland Course to mount the comeback.
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