Oct. 31, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville – Scott Limbaugh sat in a crowded terminal at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on the evening of Oct. 18. Earlier that day, Limbaugh’s Vanderbilt golf team had finished second in the prestigious Tavistock Collegiate Invitational Windermere, Fla. The Commodores then packed up and flew from Orlando to Atlanta, where a short layover awaited before a final flight back to Nashville.
Vanderbilt’s runner-up finish in Florida came on the heels of a tournament title at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational two weeks earlier. In short, Limbaugh and the No. 3-ranked Commodores were riding a bit of momentum. It was enough of an upswing to make Vanderbilt assistant coach Dusty Smith wonder aloud to his boss. “We’re in the airport, and Dusty looks at me and says, ‘I wonder if we have a chance to be No. 1 tomorrow?'” Limbaugh said.
Less than a half-hour later, the coaches had their answer. Smith used his phone to confirm the Commodores had moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in GolfStat.com’s national rankings. It was the first No. 1 ranking in the history of Vanderbilt men’s golf, and Limbaugh’s group became just the fourth Vanderbilt team in any sport to earn a No. 1 national ranking.
Limbaugh, in his fifth season at the helm of the Commodores, admits the moment was more than memorable. “Honestly, it was pretty cool,” Limbaugh said.
This week Vanderbilt hits the course for the first time since becoming the No. 1 team in the country. On Monday the ‘Dores return to Atlanta to tee off in the East Lake Cup against some of the top teams in collegiate golf. The men’s field features Oregon, the 2016 NCAA champions; Texas, last season’s national runner-up; and Illinois, which sat at No. 1 earlier this season. The tournament will be broadcast live for three days on the Golf Channel.
Now that Vanderbilt is the No. 1 team in the country, Limbaugh says a trip to East Lake is a chance to prove it can play like one.
“This team has shown the right kind of leadership and maturity to handle something like this,” Limbaugh said. “I’ve told them that nothing has changed about us. We’re going to end up deciding the truth about this team. [A No. 1 ranking] is clutter if you allow it to be, but I’m excited about it.”
Limbaugh has lifted the Commodores into the upper echelon of collegiate golf since his arrival in Nashville in 2012. The ‘Dores capped the coach’s first season ranked 45th nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings; last season, they finished sixth. In 2015 Vanderbilt won four tournaments, the most in a single season in program history, and three of VU’s six trip to the NCAA Championships have come under Limbaugh.
The Commodores also closed last season with three players earning national honors. Junior Matthias Schwab garnered first-team All-American accolades, with Will Gordon and Patrick Martin landing as Freshmen All-American honorees.
For Limbaugh, Schwab personifies the program’s growth: The Rohrmoos, Austria native arrived on West End in 2013, long before the coach had turned the program into a national power. Now Schwab is perhaps the best player in the country; individually, he has finished in the top 10 in all three tournaments this fall, including a runner-up finish at Tavistock.
“As soon as somebody asks me about all this, I really just think of Matthias,” Limbaugh said. “He’s gone through some things but has chosen to be here for his senior year to finish up his degree. If you’re going to be great, you’ve got to be consistent. Matthias is the most consistent golfer I’ve ever coached. We think he’s the best player in college golf.”
Schwab and the Commodores tee off on Monday morning in Atlanta with hopes of maintaining that momentum. Schwab has been accompanied by strong play from sophomore Patrick Martin and freshman John Augenstein, the latter of whom tied Schwab for team’s lowest individual round (66) of the season. Limbaugh said he wants to see his team improve in match play, but he also wants to see how Vanderbilt handles a brighter spotlight, one that includes a national television audience.
This week, the top-ranked Commodores get their chance at East Lake.
“Everything we do is taking little steps to get ready for championship season,” Limbaugh said. “This will be an opportunity for us to grow and learn about ourselves.”
