NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt women’s golf begins its season in familiar fashion this weekend, traveling to Pebble Beach, California, to defend its title at the Carmel Cup. The Commodores compete in the three-day, 54-hole event from August 29-31. Last season, Vanderbilt took the title with a 21-over par score.
“There’s no better way to start the college golf season than four rounds at the iconic Pebble Beach,” said head coach Greg Allen. “I can promise you that we don’t take this opportunity for granted, and we are very grateful to the Fin Ewing family and our administration for giving us this experience.”
Vandy enters the 2025-26 campaign ranked No. 11 overall in the Golfweek Top 25. The Dores finished in the top three at five events last season and closed the year in 16th at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
“We are very excited about this team and feel like we have a chance to do something really special this year,” said Allen. “We have our top six back from last year and add two outstanding freshmen, and they all had very successful summers playing amateur golf.”
Vanderbilt’s lineup for the week features veteran seniors Tillie Claggett and Lynn Lim alongside juniors Ava Merrill and Sara Im. Rounding out the Commodore squad for the weekend are both members of Vanderbilt’s No. 4-ranked 2025 recruiting class, Elizabeth Rudisill and Kathryn Ha.
“This much depth should keep everyone motivated and driven to get better every day,” said Allen. “Our qualifiers should be very entertaining.”
The Carmel Cup traditionally boasts a tough field, and this year is no exception. Vanderbilt joins No. 10-ranked Arkansas, No. 21 Mississippi State, Oklahoma, No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 24 TCU, No. 7 Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
“As for this week at Pebble, we need to be disciplined and realize that every shot matters,” Allen said. “We need to compete to the best of our ability from the first tee ball Friday until the last putt on Sunday.”
Vanderbilt will take the tee on Friday at 8:30 a.m. CT alongside Mississippi State, TCU, and Oklahoma State. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
