The Vanderbilt women’s golf team competed in the Ron Moore Intercollegiate at the University of Denver golf course in Highland Ranch, Colorado, on Oct. 7-9. After coming close to victory at the Mason Rudolph Championship in September, the Commodores picked up their first win of the season by a comfortable 20-stroke margin over second-place Xavier. All five team members shot under par and placed in the top 10, a truly impressive feat considering no other school had multiple golfers under par.
The Commodores had a strong start on day one, shooting eight under as a team and jumping out to a four-stroke lead. Senior Celina Sattelkau led the team, shooting a three-under-par 69 thanks to making four birdies. Junior Virginie Ding and freshman Lynn Lim posted a pair of two-under-par 70s, while freshman Tillia Claggett rounded out the scoring golfers with a one-under 71.
On day two, Vanderbilt took control. As the course played a little bit more difficult, all five golfers shot under par, with Sattelkau’s five-under 67 leading the way. Her seven birdies led the field, as she powered the Commodores to a 16-stroke lead. Ding, Lim and sophomore Natasha Kiel also contributed to the scoring. While Claggett’s one-under 71 didn’t count toward the team score, it was still the 12th-best score of the day.
While day three started with the team part of the competition mostly wrapped up, there were a number of Commodores in contention for an individual championship. Sattelkau started the day one stroke off the lead but found herself out of contention after bogeying four of the first eight holes. Kiel was the lone Commodore under par, vaulting from T-14th to solo fourth behind a five-under 67. This clinched her spot as the low Commodore of the week. Vanderbilt finished the tournament at 25 under par.
The five Commodores played textbook golf, battling on the par threes and fours to shoot cumulatively one-over. Meanwhile, they took advantage of the par fives, shooting 22 under, seven strokes better than any other team. This type of approach is something they should be able to replicate throughout the rest of the season, and this week will give them a lot of confidence going forward.
“What a big weekend for our program and for this team. I couldn’t be more proud of a group of young ladies,” Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen said. “Winning isn’t easy, but they sure made it look that way.”
Next up, the Commodores will have their final tournament of the fall on Oct. 28: at the Battle at the Beach in Cabo, Mexico, where they will look to build on this win against a tougher field.
