The Vanderbilt men’s golf team capped off a dominant three-day stretch that saw them take home the title of the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The Commodores shot 7-under par on the final day of the event to finish at -39—five strokes above the second place finisher, Georgia.
Fifth-year senior John Augenstein led the way for Vanderbilt, closing out the tournament at 13-under and in second place individually, just one stroke behind the leader.
Sophomores Matthew Riedel and William Moll followed Augenstein, as they placed tied for fifth and 11th, respectively.
The Commodores’ Tuesday score of 277 was enough to hold onto the victory. They had a significant cushion heading into the final round after they shot 265 on Monday, a new record-low for the program.
“We’ve had some good players here, and for our kids to do that—things that’ve never been done—was pretty cool,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said.
The event was played at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee, which is where the men’s and women’s teams hold their practices. Because of the team’s familiarity with the course, they felt more than prepared for the event.
“We’re comfortable in our own course, we know the flow of it,” Augenstein said. “[To win] was very satisfying, it was good to get it done at home.”
After finishing tied for fifth place at the Blessings Invitational earlier this month, the coaches and players made the necessary adjustments to compete in their first home tournament of the season. Both coach Limbaugh and Augenstein said that the team was trending in the right direction and that the momentum carried over onto this week’s win.
“We were very excited and focused and wanted to send a message to the rest of the conference,” said Augenstein, who has an opportunity to repeat as SEC Player of the Year for this season.
Although Augenstein finished in second place overall, it was actually Matthew Riedel—the squad’s #5 slot—who was tied for first place individually heading into the third and final round. While a 72 on Tuesday was his worst score of the week, his hot start kept him in the tournament’s top five.
“This is a big step forward for him,” Limbaugh said of Ridel’s development.
The team’s third-best performer, William Moll, continued his strong string of play after leading the team at the Blessings Invitational. Limbaugh cited consistency as the area of Moll’s game where he needs to improve the most, which is why consecutive strong performances have the coach excited for Moll’s outlook this season.
Like his coach, Augenstein believes that Moll is ready to elevate his game this year.
“[Moll] is really really molding into the player we know he can be,” Augenstein said. “He hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential.”
Junior Reid Davenport and senior Harrison Ott rounded out the five-man rotation, finishing tied for 18th and tied for 31st, respectively.
The team will continue to practice until their next event in November—the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Alabama. In this event, they will play without Augenstein, who will be participating in the amateur field of the 2020 Masters Tournament, which starts the same week.
Augenstein says he has been preparing for months for the golf world’s biggest stage. After already playing in this year’s US Open, the Kentucky native believes he is ready for the challenge of playing at Augusta National.
“All I can do is control myself and do as well as I can do,” he said. “If I do that, I think I’ll be alright.”
Even though the team will be without one of the nation’s best collegiate golfers in Birmingham, Limbaugh believes that this is an opportunity for other players to grow.
“[Playing without Augenstein] will be good for us because the expectations are that opportunities aren’t lost, they just go to somebody else. We need people to step up and you need to learn what it feels like to be expected to step up and raise your game to a new level.”
Limbaugh thinks the team can still improve from their play at the Legends Club, especially in their “mental approach to the game,” but he recognizes that his squad just completed a special performance.
“I’m super proud of them,” Limbaugh said. “We want to enjoy this win for a day and get back after it tomorrow.”
