Vanderbilt Women’s Golf captured its second Ron Moore Intercollegiate title at the University of Denver Golf Club in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, from Oct. 3-5. First-year Elizabeth Rudisill secured her first career championship with a final score of 206, finishing 10-under-par to win the individual title by a stroke. The Commodores led the tournament in eagles and ranked top four in all statistical categories — birdies, pars, par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. This win, coupled with the program’s victory at the Mason Rudolph Championship a few weeks ago, marks its first back-to-back tournament victories since February of 2019.
“I’m really proud of our girls for putting together an impressive weekend,” head coach Greg Allen said. “They came ready to play and competed at a very high level. Today ended up being another really good test as the hole locations were pretty tough and the wind picked up again midway through the round, but the girls handled it well.”
Ava Merrill, Tillie Claggett, Lynn Lim, Kathryn Ha and Rudisill earned the start at the three-day, 54-hole tournament with Angelina Tolentino competing as an individual.
The Commodores started strong on Day 1, shooting 17-under-par to earn a five-stroke lead after 18 holes — the second-best round in program history. Lim led the team and tournament, tying for first with a 65 in the first round. Tolentino finished the day tied for third with a bogey-free 6-under 66.
Day 2 proved to be difficult, with wind gusts over 30 mph. Vanderbilt carded a 1-under 287 to increase its lead to 11 strokes. Rudisill’s 2-under on her back nine moved her up to second on the individual leaderboard, trailing only Merrill, who shot a 4-under 68.
“We were definitely going in the wrong direction through the first seven holes,” Allen said after the second round. “I think that shows a lot of maturity to end up under par. We knew the conditions were going to be much tougher today, and they were with the wind blowing a constant 20-25 mph all day with gusts in the mid-30s.”
The team sealed the deal on Day 3, as it finished 13 strokes ahead of the competition at 24-under-par. Rudisill claimed the medalist honors with a 4-under 68 in the final round. Merrill finished tied for second with a 2-under 70, while Tolentino finished fourth in the individual standings after a round of 69. Lim tied for ninth with a round of 72, while Ha and Claggett finished 20th and 21st, respectively.
“I’m so happy for Rudy [Rudisill],” Allen said. “She played really great golf this week and it was nice to see her get the win.”
The Commodores will be back in action Oct. 20-22 at The Ally in West Point, Mississippi.
