FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Vanderbilt stretched its lead Tuesday after 36 holes of the Mason Rudolph and goes into Wednesday’s final round with a commanding lead over Tennessee.
The Commodores were 17-under-par Tuesday and are up 17 strokes on the Volunteers. Vandy is scheduled to tee off 9:40 a.m. Wednesday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
Individually, Gordon Sargent surged up the leaderboard and resides in first going into the final round. The sophomore, fresh off an appearance at the Masters Tournament, followed a 66 on Monday with a 64 on Tuesday and is 12-under-par for the event.
Sargent had an eagle on 18 to go along with six birdies. His only bogey came on the par 4 12th.
Vanderbilt has four players in the top 11 with William Moll (-6) tied for second and Cole Sherwood (-5) tied for eighth. Matthew Riedel (-4) is in 11th and also had an eagle on 18.
Moll was 7-under-par Tuesday while Sherwood carded a 70 thanks, in part, to an eagle on No. 6.
Wells Williams (+4) is tied for 47th overall.
Competing as individuals, Reid Davenport (-3) is tied for 12th and Jackson Van Paris (-2) is tied for 14th. Jansen Preston (+6) is tied for 59th.
“I thought we played with a sense of urgency today and I’m really pleased with how we played a complete round,” Vandy head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “Obviously, William did a great job getting momentum early and fighting to not give it back. He loves to compete and he wasn’t pleased with how he played Monday so certainly proud of that bounce back.
“Gordon looked rock solid all day and really finished the round strong. He made a 4- foot par putt on No. 10 that was huge for him. We had a lot of guys fighting to get and keep momentum which is always big. Cole battled out there today and Matthew was solid and made a great eagle on the last hole. Also, really good to see Jackson play such a solid round.”
The Commodores will be going for their eighth Mason Rudolph Championship and sixth since 2015 when they tee off alongside Mississippi State and Tennessee on Wednesday. Live scoring can be found HERE.
Vanderbilt has won the Mason Rudolph seven times and five times since 2015. It shot a tournament record 806 to win the 2022 event. Sargent will be looking to become the seventh Commodore to win the individual title joining Sherwood, John Augenstein, Matthias Schwab, Hunter Stewart, Luke List and Brandt Snedeker.
“Wednesday is a big day for our team. It’s the final day of the regular season and we need to take pride in finishing the right way,” Limbaugh said. “My request is to see the guys playing with the same grit we had today, compete to our standards and play like a team that loves to have fun playing this game.
“I would love to see our fans show up one more day for these guys.”
