ATHENS, Ga. – The Commodore men’s golf team begins their quest for the NCAA Championship this Monday through Wednesday at the Athens, Georgia Regional at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Vanderbilt, the number one seed at the regional, will tee off at 10 a.m. Central time off the number one tee.
The No. 1 seed Commodores will compete with Duke, host Georgia, Liberty, Alabama, Tennessee, Campbell, Kentucky, Nevada, SMU, Memphis, UNC Wilmington, and Princeton.
“We have had a couple of good weeks at home to finish up school, rest a little, and prepare for this next step,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “I want us to be a team that appreciates the opportunity we have in front of us and bring a desire to compete. The goal this time of year is to be enthusiastic about playing the game and just go play the next shot. I like this team and the leadership we have and I believe this group is ready to play. We need to play our game, allow the game to come to us and focus on doing the simple things at a high level.”
The Commodores will send seniors Will Gordon and Patrick Martin, junior John Augenstein, sophomore Harrison Ott, and freshman Reid Davenport. Redshirt junior Andrew Jacobe will serve as the team’s alternate player.
Live results can be found on Golfstat.com throughout the week.
Commodore Notes Heading Into Regional
Limbaugh in Seventh Season
Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh is one of the nation’s best head coaches, and his turn around of the Commodore program since his arrival in 2012 has been remarkable. He has mentored four first-team All-Americans, seven Palmer Cup selections, a Walker Cup member and 13 total All-America selections, all while also garnering seven consecutive NCAA Regional bids and five consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2014-18 for the first time in program history. Under Limbaugh, Vanderbilt has won 23 team tournaments — the most by a head coach in Vanderbilt golf history — and garnered 17 individual tournament winners. The coach has also led Vanderbilt to a first-place (2017), second-place (2015) and fourth-place (2016) finish in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship, Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016, and a Final Four appearance in the 2017 NCAA Championship. He has also had three of his players participate in a PGA Tour event: Hunter Stewart in 2014 at the RBC Heritage, Matthias Schwab at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2017, and John Augenstein at the 2019 RBC Heritage.
Astonishingly, 12 of the top 15 single-season stroke averages in the history of the program have been with Limbaugh at the helm, with Gordon posting the program’s top all-time stroke average at 69.23. Six of the top 10 all-time scoring averages have come with Limbaugh as the head coach, with Schwab’s 70.81 career average leading the way.
Unbelievable Senior Class
Seniors Will Gordon and Patrick Martin have changed the trajectory of the Commodore men’s golf program. Here’s a look at their accomplishments:
- 16 team championships
- 5 individual titles
- 2017 NCAA Stroke Play Champions
- Two-time match-play participants (2016, 2017)
- 2017 NCAA Semifinalists
- Five GCAA All-America honors
- Five All-SEC honors
- Three Palmer Cup selections
- Two GCAA All-America Scholar honors
Commodores As Number One Seed
The Commodores were selected as the number one seed in the Athens, Georgia Regional, their third consecutive year they have been named a number one seed and the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Golfstat Rankings
Vanderbilt enters the Athens, Georgia Regional as the number four in the nation according to Golfstat.com.
Average Player Years Rds Strokes
Single-Season Scoring Records for Commodores
1. 69.23 Will Gordon 2018-19 30 2077
2. 69.49 Hunter Stewart 2014-15 37 2571
3. 70.08 Jon Curran 2006-07 37 2593
4. 70.26 Theo Humphrey 2017-18 35 2459
5. 70.34 Patrick Martin 2016-17 32 2251
6. 70.40 Patrick Martin 2018-19 30 2112
7. 70.41 John Augenstein 2018-19 27 1901
8. 70.44 Matthias Schwab 2014-15 25 1761
9. 70.52 Matthias Schwab 2016-17 29 2045
10. 70.53 Matthias Schwab 2015-16 34 2398
11. 70.64 Jon Curran 2007-08 36 2543
12. 70.75 Theo Humphrey 2016-17 32 2264
13. 70.89 Will Gordon 2017-18 35 2481
14. 70.88 Will Gordon 2015-16 34 2410
15. 71.08 Brandt Snedeker 2002-03 40 2843
Career Scoring Records for Commodores
Average Player Years Rds Strokes
1. 70.81 Matthias Schwab 2013-17 108 7647
2. 70.85 Patrick Martin 2015-19 131 9281
3. 70.97 Will Gordon 2015-19 131 9297
4. 71.07 John Augenstein 2016-19 94 6681
5. 71.14 Theo Humphrey 2014-18 132 9390
6. 71.56 Jon Curran 2005-09 133 9517
7. 71.77 Brandt Snedeker 2000-03 118 8469
8. 72.01 Hunter Stewart 2011-15 139 10010
9. 72.10 Luke List 2003-07 143 10311
10. 73.19 Harrison Ott 2017-19 43 3147
Accolades In 2018-19
The Commodoes won three team tournament titles (Tavistock Collegiate Championship, Florida Gators Invitational, Mason Rudolph Championship) and two individual championships (Will Gordon at Tavistock and Gator).
Dores Not Afraid To Go Low
In 2018-19, the Commodores had 42 rounds in the 60’s on reknown courses – Pebble Beach Golf Links, Colonial Country Club, Seaside Golf Course, and Isleworth Country Club, to name a few of the courses.
