No. 11 Vanderbilt Men’s Golf returned to action at the Watersound Invitational from Feb. 18-19 in Panama City Beach, Florida. The Commodores were in pursuit of the elusive three-peat after winning the event the past two years; however, it was not to be as the young squad placed fifth in a field of 12 teams. Jackson Van Paris paced the Commodores, tying for fourth place individually with a cumulative 6-under 210, but it was not enough to propel Vanderbilt near the top of the leaderboard.
Wells Williams, Chase Nevins, John Broderick, Gordon Sargent and Van Paris earned the start while Ryan Downes competed as an independent — which meant his scores did not count towards the team totals.
The Commodores got off to a sluggish start on Day One, sitting in 11th place after 18 holes. This shockingly poor start to the event was headlined by an uncharacteristic 9-over 81 by Sargent — the star senior who will compete on the PGA TOUR after the NCAA Championships in May. A pair of 75s by Williams and Nevins were compounding errors, and a 77 from Broderick put the Commodores in a serious hole after Round One.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t show up ready and excited to compete to our standards, and that’s all of our faults,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “I thought we were being careful and protective, and neither one of those things [leads] to a good mindset.”
Van Paris was the sole Vanderbilt player to shoot under par on Day One, firing a 2-under 70 to put himself in a good position on the individual leaderboard.
With inclement weather quickly approaching the Florida area, tournament officials decided to move up Wednesday’s final round. Thirty-six holes were played on Tuesday to finish the event and avoid further delays.
Day Two brought new hope and life to Limbaugh’s squad, as Vanderbilt carded the lowest team score in the final round. This herculean effort pushed the Commodores into fifth place at the end of the event after shooting a cumulative 20-under-par for the final 36 holes.
A 6-under 282 in Round Two moved the Commodores into a tie for seventh. Williams paved the way for his teammates, posting a spectacular 4-under 68 to ignite the Vanderbilt side. He made just one bogey in the round while rolling in five birdies. A pair of 71s from Broderick and Sargent helped the comeback, but Vanderbilt was still chasing from deep within the pack after Round Two.
With a stacked leaderboard ahead of it, Vanderbilt had its work cut out in the final round. However, the Commodores rose to the occasion and shot a cumulative 14-under 274 — the squad’s best round of the year. Broderick carded a 67 while Nevins and Van Paris shot 68 to round out Vanderbilt’s top performers. Williams and Sargent added a pair of 71s as the team finished the tournament in fifth place.
“Jackson [Van Paris] led the way for us again today and really did a great job staying positive after a slow start,” Limbaugh said. “Wells [Williams] was a couple over early today, but hung in there and really played great which was big for him and our team. John [Broderick] was really good all day long today and he continues to build a lot of trust with his consistency and ability to lift the team up.”
Van Paris finished the event in a tie for fourth individually — his first top-five finish of the year — while Williams and Broderick both earned top-30 finishes.
Despite a successful second day, Vanderbilt’s disastrous first round put it out of contention for the team title. Questions still remain for this relatively young team — particularly whether Sargent will improve his scores before turning pro in May.
Vanderbilt will return to action from March 2-4 at Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for the Cabo Collegiate.
