The Vanderbilt’s Women’s Golf team claimed the program’s fifth Mason Rudolph Championship title at the par-71 Vanderbilt Legends Club this past weekend. The team stormed from behind on the final day, erasing an eight-stroke deficit to win by two shots over Mississippi State.
“What a day and what a great comeback,” head coach Greg Allen said. “It’s not always easy to play at home, and our girls handled it very well. I’m so proud of how we never once stopped competing this weekend.”
Ava Merrill, Tillie Claggett, Elizabeth Rudisill, Kathryn Ha and Lynn Lim were Vanderbilt’s starters while Angelina Tolentino, Sara Im, Macie Brown and Jayden Jevnick competed as individuals.
The Commodores opened the weekend with a 9-under-par team score in Round 1, sitting just seven strokes behind leader Mississippi State. Rounds of 68 by Merrill and Claggett paced the Commodores, while a 2-under 69 by Ha and a 1-under 70 by Lim rounded out the counting scores.
Tolentino also had a stellar day as an individual, shooting a team-low 4-under 67.
“I thought today was a pretty solid start with a really good team effort,” Allen said after Day 1.
On Day 2, Vanderbilt remained in second place, shooting an even-par 284. Merrill was a bright spot once again, shooting a 4-under 67 with five birdies on her back nine. The junior entered the final round in the lead. Every other Commodore was over-par for the day, as Rudisill and Lim both shot 72 while Ha carded a 73.
“I thought we got off to a really good start today and made a pretty serious move to close the gap,” Allen said of his team’s performance on Day 2. “Then, we got really sloppy. We started missing greens and didn’t chip the ball very well.”
Vanderbilt finished with a final round of 6-under-par to win the tournament. Four Commodores placed within the top six individually, led by second-place finisher Merrill. The final day saw Merrill close strong with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to complete the comeback. Rudisill added a 5-under 66 on the last day to finish in fourth place, while Claggett shot a 3-under 68 to finish in a tie for sixth. Ha ended the tournament in 13th place.
“This was such a great team effort, and we got big rounds today from [Elizabeth Rudisill] and Tillie [Claggett],” Allen said. “We stayed patient and knew we had three par-5s to play coming down the stretch, and we played them 8-under.”
The Commodores will return to action on Oct. 4 at the annual Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
