No. 3 Vanderbilt claimed victory on Sept. 11 with a furious back nine effort to capture the Valero Texas Collegiate and begin the 2023-2024 season on a high note. The Commodores closed with a five-stroke lead over second-place finisher TCU while also besting quality opponents in No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 13 Virginia and No. 20 Georgia.
Graduate student Matthew Riedel posted the best finish of any Commodore as he swung 4-under-par 216 on the weekend and ended tied for fifth individually. Junior Jackson Van Paris and graduate William Moll narrowly trailed Riedel with finishes of 3 under par and 2 under par, respectively. No Commodore finished worse than 3 over par.
Vanderbilt opened the tournament with a strong day one performance as three Commodores shot under par while the team held a two-stroke advantage over the rest of the field. Just a week after winning the Walker Cup, junior Gordon Sargent was right back leading the Black and Gold as he finished tied for a team best 2 under par.
Vanderbilt’s lead evaporated on day two as the team averaged 2-over-par 72. Uncharacteristically, Sargent shot 5 over par while no player finished under par. Though it was by far Vanderbilt’s worst day of the tournament, it left the team only three strokes behind leader TCU entering the third and final round.
After failing to narrow the lead through the first nine holes, the Commodores summoned a Herculean team effort to go 10 under par on the back nine that clinched the tournament by a narrow five strokes. Five out of six Commodores finished under par on the final day, including a miraculous 6-under-par performance out of Riedel that vaulted him up the individual leaderboard.
“Our competitive character was outstanding,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “It was a big win, and we have about two weeks to get rested and ready for Birmingham.”
The Commodores will be back in action from Sept. 25-27 when they travel to Birmingham, AL, to compete in the SEC Fall Preview. Last season, the Commodores made it all the way to the tournament finale before losing 3-2 to Tennessee.
