PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The No. 12-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team put the nation on notice this weekend with a season-opening victory over a stacked field at the 2025 Carmel Cup.
Vandy carded 17-under 1,063 over 54 holes of stroke play at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California, to post its first victory of the 2025-26 campaign. The No. 12 Dores won the Carmel Cup by three strokes, knocking off a pair of top-10 teams in defending national champion Oklahoma State, which opens the season as the top-ranked team in the country, and No. 9 Oklahoma. The Commodores held round scores of 352-346-365 in the play-six, count-five format.
It is Vanderbilt’s first victory since winning the 2024 NCAA West Lafayette Regional, while it is the program’s 47th team title under Vanderbilt Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Men’s Golf Head Coach Scott Limbaugh. The Commodores had a pair of underclassmen finish in the top five on the player leaderboard, while All-American senior Wells Williams placed inside the top 10.
“I am thrilled for our guys and proud of how we stayed strong to get the win,” expressed Limbaugh. “You cannot take winning for granted because it’s never easy. It certainly wasn’t easy today, but going through adversity always makes you better. You have to expect to get pushed by good teams and be willing to push back. We have a lot of new faces, and everyone is figuring out where they fit in. It was a total team effort, and Ryan and Michael played with a ton of courage all week, especially down the stretch today. Assistant coach Austin Cody did a great job hanging in there with Michael this week and keeping him locked in. Wells did a great job this week, and he’s enjoying leading these guys.”
Vanderbilt’s victory this weekend marks its first team win at the Carmel Cup, a tournament the Commodores have played in 11 times dating back to the 2011-12 season. This season marks the final Carmel Cup, a tournament that has hosted the top college golf teams from across the nation for the past 14 years.
Vandy has now won its season-opening tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. It is the program’s fourth overall victory in the first tournament of a campaign.
Freshman Michael Riebe had a remarkable collegiate debut at the Carmel Cup, finishing in third place. The Encinitas, California, native carded 10-under par 206 and posted round scores of 69-66-71. Riebe displayed his accuracy from distance…
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