Gordon Sargent, the standout Vanderbilt junior, had a successful summer on the amateur and professional golf circuit, winning low-amateur honors at the U.S. Open and retaining his world No.1 amateur golf ranking. Sargent was recently recognized for his performance with the Mark H. McCormack Medal this past Wednesday, given to the top men’s amateur golfer. Not only is this a great honor for the 20-year-old, it gives Sargent exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. He will compete with the best players in the world next summer in these majors.
Sargent earned this award through his stellar play as an amateur, particularly in both his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Commodores. Since winning the 2022 individual NCAA Championship in his freshman year, Sargent has taken the golf world by storm and has built himself a stellar resume.
In his sophomore campaign, Sargent placed in the top-10 in every collegiate tournament, except for the 2023 NCAA Championships, winning three times at the East Lake Cup, John Hayt Invitational and Mason Rudolph Championship. With his five collegiate wins, Sargent has already set a Vanderbilt Men’s Golf record for most individual wins. With a successful summer at the U.S. Open and solid performance at the John Deere Classic — another PGA Tour event, Sargent deserved to win the prestigious Mark H. McCormack Medal.
Another big event approaches for Sargent: The Walker Cup. This tournament is the peak of amateur golf and one of the few times in the sport where players compete as a team. The event will take place from Sept. 2-3 at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, one of the most historic golf courses in the world.
The Walker Cup consists of two 10-man teams, Great Britain/Ireland vs. USA, and Sargent was one of the first three players selected to play in the event back in June. Many golf analysts suspected Sargent to make the team considering his world No.1 amateur golf ranking, but Mike McCoy and Nathan Smith — the two captains for team USA — made it official earlier this summer.
The format for the Walker Cup is similar to that of the Ryder Cup for professional golf, featuring a variety of different formats centered around matchplay. All matches are played over 18 holes, and each match counts for one point, with a tied match counting for a half a point. Each morning, there are four foursome matches (also known as the alternate shot format) followed by singles (individual matchplay) in the afternoon. A team will need to secure 13.5 points (of the 26 points available) to hoist the trophy after day two.
Sargent will be joined by nine other highly qualified players, including Nick Dunlap, the recent U.S. Amateur Champion, Ben James, the ACC Freshman of the Year, and Caleb Surratt, SEC Freshman of the Year. All players on the U.S. team are ranked in the top-20 in the world amateur golf rankings.
After Sargent competes in the Walker Cup, he will have reached 19 points in the PGA Tour U Accelerated Program, only one point shy of earning his PGA Tour Card for the 2024 season. This final point will likely be earned once he tees off at the World Amateur Team Championships in October.
However, Sargent will be taking things one event at a time as he and his teammates hope to catch fire across the pond and win the Walker Cup trophy.
The Walker Cup will air on the Golf Channel on Sept. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT and on Sept. 3 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT.
