GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Vanderbilt men’s golf team won its second consecutive Gator Invitational on Sunday afternoon after holding off home-standing Florida by one stroke at the Mark Bostick Golf Course, while senior Will Gordon claimed medalist honors by one shot over Albin Bergstrom of South Florida to cap off a stellar tournament for the Commodores. Vanderbilt posted a 1-under-par 839 (282-275-282) and Gordon carded a 7-under-par 203 (70-63-79) for the two-day, 54-hole event.
The wins were the second consecutive for both Vanderbilt and Gordon, as each claimed fall finale victories at the Isleworth Collegiate. The individual victory was Gordon’s fourth of his outstanding career.
The Commodores held on after a third-round charge from Florida, who finished with the low round of the day at 4-under-par 276. Vanderbilt fired 2-over-par 282 on Sunday.
Two Commodores — Gordon and fellow senior Patrick Martin — each finished in the top five. Martin ended the tournament in a tie for fourth with a 207 (69-70-68).
Vanderbilt’s other finishers included junior John Augenstein, who finished in a tie for 26th (70-72-72, 214), freshman Reid Davenport, who finished in a tie for 40th (73-72-72, 217), and sophomore Harrison Ott, who ended the event in a tie for 49th (73-70-77, 220).
“That was good fight out there today,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh, who won his 21st team tournament and has been at the helm for 17 individual titles. “You go into a day like this expecting other teams to play well and knowing you will have a battle. That’s exactly what we had today and I am excited about how our team responded down the stretch. We made a few big putts for par on 16 and John made a great putt on 18 to put us ahead. We got off to a good start early and Patrick had it going through 10 holes. We hit a few shots on the wrong side of perfect today and that kept us from having the kind of round we wanted. Will was really good this week and I am so proud of him getting a win and lifting the team up with his play. I thought Reid did a good job just putting his head down and doing his job on the back nine. It’s good for our young guys to be in these moments and know what it feels like.”
The Commodores led the field in par-5 scoring (4.71, 13-underl) and pars (180), while finishing second in par-4 scoring (4.03, 5-over). Vanderbilt also posted 41 birdies.
“This was a good day and I am certainly proud of how we competed and I want the boys to enjoy it,” said Limbaugh. “It was our first time out this spring and I thought a good step for us. The temptation is to think we have done it. We have arrived. We cannot do that. We have to relentlessly look for areas we can all improve.”
Vanderbilt returns to the course March 3-5 at the Querencia Cabo Intercollegiate in Los Cabos, Mexico.
1. Vanderbilt – 282-275-282, 839
1. Will Gordon – 70-63-70, 203
T4. Patrick Martin – 69-70-68, 207
T26. John Augenstein – 70-72-72, 214
T40. Reid Davenport – 73-72-72, 217
T49. Harrison Ott – 73-70-77, 220
T49. Michael Shears – 73-74-73, 220*
*Played as individual
