The Vanderbilt men’s golf team continued their dominance last week, traveling south of the border to claim their second consecutive invitational title at Cabo Collegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico. The Commodores overcame a 5 stroke deficit on Sunday to edge out a loaded 14-team field featuring the likes of Texas Tech, Stanford, and Tennessee.
With such fierce competition the favorite to triumph was unclear for much of the 54 hole tournament, which lasted from Feb. 27 to March 1. The Commodores found themselves in fifth place heading into the final round, but managed to muster up a comeback behind one of the greatest individual performances in Vanderbilt men’s golf history.
Sophomore Cole Sherwood anchored the Commodores comeback with a monster three-day total of 196, good for 17 under par and the lowest individual score in the entire tournament. After a strong first two days, Sherwood caught fire on Sunday with a historic 61-stroke performance, setting a new course record and earning the lowest 18-hole score in Vanderbilt men’s golf history. His incredible final round included three eagles and five birdies, and helped him to earn the title of SEC Golfer of the Week.
“Cole is just the kind of kid that keeps getting better,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh told VUCommodores.com. “He wants to be coached, he wants to be held accountable and he really put the team on his shoulders today.”
Limbaugh didn’t limit the praise to Sherwood, commending the entire team for their contributions to the decisive victory. Freshmen Jackson Van Paris and Gordon Sargent also put forth strong performances on Sunday, finishing with 68 and 69 strokes respectively. In the final individual standings, Sargent ended tied for seventh with a score of 10 under, Reid Davenport finished tied for 38th and Van Paris finished 42nd.
“Total team effort,” Limbaugh said. “I think at one point almost halfway through the first round someone came up and told me we had fallen into last place. So about 45 holes later we look up and we’ve won the whole thing.”
The Commodores (-32) finished with a blistering total of 265 to beat Texas Tech (-30) by two strokes. That score matched a program record set at the 2020 Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. The team will have a few weeks to catch their breath before heading to the Linger Longer Invitational on March 20-22 in Eatonton, Georgia.
“Just to beat a field like this on a course like this, we feel humbled and honored to have this type of success,” Limbaugh said. “It kind of shows what we’re capable of, but we also know we all have some improving to do and that’s the thing we all have to embrace. We’re going to enjoy this and look forward to all of us trying to get a little better.”
