After placing third at the Linger Longer Invitational, Vanderbilt Men’s Golf looked to get back into the swing of things at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Florida, from April 1-4. The Commodores finished fourth overall at the event.
The tournament took place at the par-72 Calusa Pines Golf Club. Vanderbilt competed against Texas Tech, North Carolina, Arizona State, Ohio State, Georgia, Wake Forest, Purdue and Iowa.
Cole Sherwood, Matthew Riedel, William Moll, Reid Davenport and Wells Williams were the starters for this tournament. Star Gordon Sargent was about 600 miles up the road from the team as he prepared to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament.
Vanderbilt has been putting together a historic season on the links ― its five regular-season event wins are already a program record.
“It’s about seeing opportunity and understanding we are playing a championship course that will require discipline and resilience,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “Those are things that are requirements for postseason play, so it’s great to continue to learn those things about our team.”
The Commodores got off to a rough start on April 1, shooting a combined 294 (6 over par). The course was clearly tough, though, as only two teams (Wake Forest and North Carolina) managed to shoot under par.
“I believe in this group, and I’m excited to see who is going to step up Monday,” Limbaugh said. “We got to go play with a strong spirit and be focused from the start with everyone competing to our standards.”
On April 2, Vanderbilt had the bounce-back performance that it needed. The team’s 291 (3 over par) was the best tally of the day and pushed it into third place overall. Sherwood and Moll led the charge for the Commodores, each firing a 1-under 71.
“Having all five guys staying in the battle was big,” Limbaugh said. “This is a really demanding course that is helping us grow and preparing us for what’s ahead. When things are hard, it makes you better, and, as a competitor, you have to learn to stay in the fight.”
Unfortunately, things unraveled once again for Vanderbilt on Tuesday, as it put together the second-worst round of the day out of all teams with a score of 296. North Carolina went on to win the cup as the only team that managed to finish under par at -4.
The day did not come without a bright spot, though: Moll carded an impressive 69. He tied for second overall in the tournament at -3, only two shots behind North Carolina’s Ryan Burnett.
“I believe this week helps make us better,” Limbaugh said. “We are learning more and more each time we compete.”
Vanderbilt will be back in action when they host the annual Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club from April 10-12.
