Oct. 3, 2015
The sixth-ranked Commodore men’s golf team, fresh off of a team victory at the DICK’s Collegiate Challenge Cup last weekend at The Golf Club of Tennessee, heads to the west coast for another challenging field at the Nike Collegiate Invitational in Portland, Ore., at world renown Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club this Sunday through Tuesday.
Vanderbilt will compete against eight other top 25 teams in the field this week, which includes Texas (#23), Stanford (#7), USC, Oklahoma (#4), Oregon (#24), Washington, Wake Forest (#9), Georgia (#8), Arizona, Clemson (#16), Duke (#10), Ohio State, and Oregon State. The Commodores will play their first 18 holes at Ghost Creek, which will be set up as a par-71, 6,834-yard format, and their final 36 holes at Witch Hollow, a par-72, 7,015-yard layout.
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is rich in history and tradition, playing host to six USGA championships including Tiger Woods’ dramatic victory in the 1996 US Amateur, his unprecedented 3rd consecutive US Amateur championship. Pumpkin Ridge has also hosted two US Women’s Opens, and numerous Web.Com Tour and LPGA Tour events. The vision for the NCI is to expose the very best in men’s college golf to a PGA Tour like experience played on a major championship golf course and showcase Nike, Inc. and Nike Golf’s commitment to the athlete and to sports.
“This event is a great opportunity for our team,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “It is hosted on a championship golf course against one of the best fields in the country. Pumpkin Ridge is a special place with lots of history. We have not been to the Pacific Northwest yet, so it will definitely get us out of our comfort zone, which will be good for the team. Nike does so much for our program, so it will be a cool experience for all of us to visit the Nike World Headquarters.”
Vanderbilt will send its same starting five from the DICK’s Collegiate Challenge Cup – seniors Zack Jaworski and Spencer Ciesla, junior Matthias Schwab, and freshmen Patrick Martin and Will Gordon.
“Last week was a lot of fun and now we need to take the same competitive character and apply it to this week and this opportunity,” said Limbaugh. “College golf is all about how you progress throughout the season and we have plenty of room to grow, and to me that is exciting. Our focus is on doing the little things better and more consistently.”
Tee times begin Sunday at 8 a.m. Pacific Time at Ghost Creek.
