The Vanderbilt golf team played the Mason Rudolph Championship at their home course, the Vanderbilt Legends Club, in Franklin, Tennessee this past weekend. They had their best performance of the season at a course they undoubtedly know well, jumping out to a nine-stroke lead on Friday and eventually winning by that same margin. Sophomore Cole Sherwood was the Commodores’ star again, winning the individual section of the tournament by four strokes over senior teammate Reid Davenport.
Friday started about as well as it could have for the Commodores. Sherwood posted the lowest round of the day shooting a bogey-free 8-under 63. After a solid 33 on the front nine he caught fire, birdieing five of his final six holes, for a 30 score on the back. The other three scoring players for the Commodores, freshman Gordon Sargent (-4), junior William Moll (-3) and Davenport (-3) all placed in the top 10 after Day 1. No one on the eight-man roster—three were competing as individuals—finished over par.
Saturday the Commodores expanded their lead by another three strokes, fueled again by Sherwood, who shot 4 under, and Davenport, who shot 5 under. Davenport played a very patient round, making birdie on his first hole of the day before 11 consecutive pars. Then, similar to Sherwood on Friday, he birdied four of the last six holes to post the lowest Commodore round of the day. Fifth-year Harrison Ott rebounded from an even-par 71 on Friday to shoot 4 under as well, and Sargent rounded out the back of the scoring lineup by posting a 1-under 70.
Vanderbilt carried their momentum into Sunday, as Sherwood and Davenport both shot a pair of 5-under 66s while Sargent shot 4-under (67). Sargent continued to show a knack for playing mistake-free golf, as his 67 on Day 3 was his second bogey-free round of the week, matching the bogey-free 67 he posted on Friday. Moll and Ott both shot 71, one of which was counted as the final scoring round of the week, rounding out a wire-to-wire performance. Sherwood went wire-to-wire as well, claiming his second individual victory of the season after his dominating performance at the Cabo Collegiate in February. Davenport finished in second, four strokes back, followed by Sargent in fifth, junior Matthew Reidel in 12th, Ott in 15th, freshman Jackson Van Paris in 28th and rounded out by Moll and senior Michael Shears in 34th.
“Super excited for our guys and proud of how they played all week,” head coach Scott Limbaugh told VUCommodores.com. “That was as close to a complete tournament as we have played so far this season.”
The Commodores did exactly what one would expect them to do as a very talented team on a familiar golf course. They stayed patient but knew when and how to attack the course. Their top three golfers—Sherwood, Davenport and Sargent—made just nine bogeys or worse all week on 162 holes played. They led the week in par-4 scoring, one of just two teams to shoot under par on the par 4s. They also led the week in both birdies and pars, which speaks volumes about the bogey avoidance they put on display. Davenport and Sargent excelled on the par 4s, leading the tournament on an individual level, while Sherwood used his exceptional iron play to attack the par 3s, where he led the field in scoring.
“We are learning more about our team each time we play and I like a lot of what we learned this week. I also know that there are a lot of things we can improve upon and do more consistently,” Limbaugh said. “We have to keep pushing forward mentally knowing we have the capability to accomplish our goals with the right effort and right focus on the right things.”
The Commodores will look to carry their run of brilliant form into next week’s Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship from April 11-12 in Mississippi as they continue to prepare for the SEC Tournament at the end of the month.
