No. 12 Vanderbilt Women’s Golf looked to build momentum after a strong finish at the Puerto Rico Classic as it competed in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina, from March 2–5. Facing a challenging field that included six top-10 teams and 15 ranked squads overall, the Commodores played to par and tied for eighth with Auburn, showing resilience against fierce competition.
Vanderbilt’s lineup for the tournament included Angelina Tolentino, Ava Merrill, Lynn Lim, Sara Im and Tillie Claggett, with second-year Charlene Chung competing as an individual. The tournament took place at the Long Cove Club, a Pete Dye-designed course stretching just shy of 6,400 yards and playing to a par-71.
On Day One, Vanderbilt got off to a strong start just like it did at the Puerto Rico Classic, led by sophomore Ava Merrill, who carded a 2-under 69 — tying for second with Mississippi State’s Sam Whateley. The rest of the team played well too, with Tolentino shooting a 1-over 72, Claggett posting a 74 and Lim shooting a 75. Im shot a 77, and Chung posted a 78 for her individual score. The course played tough all week, with a Day One scoring average of over 75. Vanderbilt finished the day in third place with a 6-over 290 team score.
On Day Two, Claggett got off to a hot start with a birdie on hole two and an eagle on hole three. She played stellar throughout the round, adding four more birdies to finish the day with a 68, the lowest score of the day, and putting her T-4 in the individual standings. The rest of the team played decently, but with the fierce competition, Vanderbilt fell to sixth overall in the tournament, setting the stage for an exciting final day as it was only six shots away from the podium.
On the final day, the weather picked up, causing the highest average scores of the tournament and a weather delay. However, that didn’t stop Lim from shooting the team’s best round of the day, a 69, with five birdies. Three of those came from a bogey-free back nine score of 32, allowing her to finish inside the top 30 in individual play. However, Vanderbilt shot 17-over on the day, which dropped it two spots in the standings. The team had a final finish at eighth place. LSU, the star of the day, scored three points lower than the next competitor, allowing it to tie South Carolina for first place.
If Vanderbilt wants to stay competitive this spring season, it must improve par three performances. In this tournament, the Black and Gold ranked 10th in par-three scoring, and at the Puerto Rico Classic, they finished near the bottom in par-three averages.
It will be interesting to see if they can improve this area at their next tournament from March 10–11, the Yale Invitational West, in La Quinta, California, where the competition will be less intense. However, the course — PGA West — will present its own challenges. Narrow fairways that penalize bad shots, deep bunkers and intimidating greens with tricky slopes are elements of the Pete Dye design that led to PGA players originally wanting it removed from the schedule.
