No. 10 Vanderbilt Men’s Golf concluded its fall season at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate from Oct. 18-20 in Alpharetta, Georgia. The Commodores struggled to end the fall on a positive note, taking eighth place with a cumulative 1-over 865 total. Junior Wells Williams notched a top-five finish in the event, but it wasn’t enough to carry the Commodores to success. This marks the first time since the 2021 season that Vanderbilt has failed to win a team title in its fall season.
“I think we learned a lot about our team this fall,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “I think we have a great core group, but we have to continue to see more consistency as a team. We have to have more guys stepping up, and that starts with getting everyone buying into doing the right things more consistently and swimming in the deep end.”
Jackson Van Paris, Ryan Downes, John Broderick, Chase Nevins and Williams earned the start for the Commodores. Gordon Sargent — Vanderbilt’s usual starter and future PGA TOUR player — was reportedly dealing with an illness and unable to play this weekend.
The Commodores sat in fifth place after Day One, shooting a collective 3-under 285. Van Paris led the charge, cashing in six birdies en route to a 4-under 68 to sit in a tie for fifth on the individual leaderboard. Williams followed closely behind him, shooting a 3-under 69 to finish the day in the top 10.
Broderick remained steady, carding an even-par 72, while Downes and Nevins struggled to find any momentum, each finishing with a 76.
“I’m excited to see Jackson [Van Paris] and Wells [Williams] go out and play some really good rounds today,” Limbaugh said after Day One. “We knew we had to have people step up, and they did that today, which was big. Wells has put in a lot of quality work the last couple of weeks, and we know what he’s capable of when he’s locked in. Jackson was solid from the start and continues to do the right things.”
Vanderbilt struggled to piece together a strong collective round on Day Two as it slipped down the ranks. Four of Vanderbilt’s five players were over-par as the Commodores shot a cumulative 2-over 290. Williams was the sole Commodore to find red figures as he once again carded a 3-under 69. Five birdies on the day propelled him into a tie for third on the individual leaderboard after 36 holes.
“Obviously, proud of Wells [Willliams] and how he did a great job staying patient today and allowing his round to kind of take shape,” Limbaugh said. “That was big for him and for us.”
Van Paris failed to recreate his magic from round one, shooting a 5-over 77. This certainly didn’t help the Commodores’ chances of moving up the leaderboard, as Van Paris — without his fellow senior in Sargent — represented this starting squad’s most experienced contributor.
Nevins improved in round two, shooting a 1-over 73 while Broderick and Downes failed to keep the big numbers off the scorecard, each carding a 74.
“We had a chance to have a good round but didn’t quite finish as strong as we would’ve liked,” Limbaugh said after Day Two. “I know we are learning a lot about ourselves each time out, and it always comes down to being able to have the right type of focus on the right things. We are doing it a lot of the time, but we have to get more consistent in order to be the team we know we can be.”
On Day Three, things only got worse for the Commodores as they slipped down to eighth place. Williams was a bright spot, earning his third consecutive round in red figures to notch a top-five finish. It is the West Point, Mississippi, native’s third top-10 finish since he first donned the Black and Gold in 2022. Van Paris also had a solid day, shooting 70 to finish the tournament in a tie for 20th.
Downes, Broderick and Nevins all finished outside of the top 50.
“We really wanted to come out and have a good final round of the fall today. The guys were locked in, I thought, but we had a tough time keeping momentum,” Limbaugh said. “However, it’s very encouraging to see Wells [Williams] play so well this week because he will be an integral part of any success we will have this spring. If a couple more putts had fallen for him today, he would have had a chance to win.”
The Commodores will now regroup and look ahead to a much-needed winter offseason before returning to the course this spring. Vanderbilt didn’t have any of its pieces clicking during the fall season, and Limbaugh and Co. will have plenty to work on in the coming months.
“We have to embrace improvement during this offseason,” Limbaugh said. “I believe in this group, and we will be ready to roll when the spring season arrives.”
Vanderbilt will return to action in the new year, as it visits Lake Sherwood, California from Jan. 27-29 for the Southwestern Invitational.
