NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s golf opened the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club with a 9-under-par team performance Friday. The Commodores sit in second place, seven strokes behind Mississippi State, after the first 18 holes.
Ava Merrill and Tillie Claggett are both tied for seventh individually, carding 3-under-par first rounds. Claggett holed five birdies while Merrill tallied three and capped off her round with an eagle on hole No. 18. Kathryn Ha, tied for 10th individually, notched a 2-under 69. Lynn Lim shot 1-under par with a 70. Elizabeth Rudisill nailed an eagle on hole No. 6 en route to an even-par 71.
“I thought today was a pretty solid start with a really good team effort,” said head coach Greg Allen. “I didn’t have a very good sense of how the golf course would play, so I’m happy to see us take advantage and post a low round.”
Competing as an individual, Angelina Tolentino fired a 4-under 67 with six birdies to sit tied for fourth.
“It’s nice to see Angelina play well,” said Allen. “She’s been working on her swing, and it’s nice to see things come together for her today.”
Sara Im had a 1-under-par 70 on Friday and Jayden Jevnick went 1-over with a 72. Macie Brown carded a 77 to begin the tournament.
Vandy leads the tournament in Par 4 average and total eagles. The Dores are third in total birdies and pars.
“I’m excited to see how we handle the next couple days,” said Allen. “Our girls are ready to chase down Mississippi State!”
Vanderbilt will tee off with Mississippi State and North Carolina at 10:15 a.m. CT on Saturday morning. Live scoring for the event can be found on Scoreboard.
