PALM CITY, Fla. – The No. 3-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team carded 12-under 272 in Round 3 of 2024 Valspar Collegiate Invitational, as the Commodores finished the two-day tournament in second place.
Vandy concluded the Valspar Collegiate at 15-under 837 to place second on the team leaderboard. The Commodores entered Tuesday in a tie for third with No. 4-ranked Arizona State, seven strokes off the lead. Vanderbilt carded 12-under 272 on Tuesday to finish in second place, four strokes behind winner No. 11-ranked Florida State. The Dores posted scores of 279-286-272 at the Floridian National Golf Club. Vandy’s Round 3 score of 272 was the low round at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational. The Commodores also paced the field with 61 birdies, 28 of which came during Tuesday’s final round.
“I’m proud of the guys and how we played today,” said Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We wanted to come out ready and focused to finish this part of our season strong, which I believe we did. It’s always great to have the low round on closing day. This was a championship field on a championship course, which is where we want to be. I know we learned a lot about ourselves, which is why you do this.
“We did a lot of good things this week. There’s also a lot of things we have to do better to be the team we know we can be. Those are the things that keep us from being the best version of ourselves. We still try to do too much sometimes, instead of accepting the situation we’ve created. We have one more opportunity to build some toughness before championship season and we have to embrace that. I believe in this team and I know they are excited to keep getting better.”
Graduate student Matthew Riedel finished in a tie for second at the 2024 Valspar Invitational, as he carded 9-under 204 over three rounds. Riedel finished at 7-under 64 in Round 3, which allowed him to shoot up eight spots on the player leaderboard to finish in a tie for second. It is his best finish this season, while it is the fourth time that Riedel placed inside the top-10 during the 2023-24 campaign. Riedel’s Round 3 score of 9-under 204 at the Valspar Collegiate matches his season-best 54-hole total, which he set at the 2023 SEC Match Play back in September.
Riedel began Round 3 of the Valspar Collegiate by collecting five birdies over his first seven holes of play, which included a run of four-straight from Holes 4 to 7. The Houston, Texas, native, added four more birdies over his final nine holes, to give him a total of nine for the round. His Round 3 score of 7-under 64 matches Riedel’s career-low 18-hole total. It also ties him with junior Gordon Sargent for the lowest round by a Commodore this season, as Sargent finished 7-under 64 in the first round of SEC Match Play back on Sept. 25.
Fellow grad student William Moll finished in a tie for 15th after carding 1-under 70 in Round 3. Moll concluded the Valspar Collegiate at 1-under 212, after he posted scores of 72-70-70. Senior Cole Sherwood went 5-under 66 in his final round of play at the Floridian National Golf Club to finish play tied for 23rd. The senior ended the tournament at even-par 213. Sherwood became the third Commodore to collect an eagle at the Valspar Collegiate, as he finished 2-under on the par-5 Hole 13.
“Obviously, Matthew and Cole played awesome today and did a great job staying locked in,” said Limbaugh. “Matthew was rock solid all week and his emotional maturity really helps him on days like today. It’s really cool to see Cole bounce back after his tough finish last night. William really hung in there well all day and played another solid round, which was big.”
Florida State captured the team title at the 2024 Valspar Collegiate Invitational, as the Seminoles carded 19-under 833. FSU’s Luke Clanton won the tournament’s individual title with a three-round total of 14-under 199.
The Vanderbilt men’s golf team will be back in action during the first weekend in April, as the Commodores host the annual Mason Rudolph Championship.
“Next weekend is our only home event of the year. This group of seniors has done so much for this program and they are a standard of excellence on and off the course,” expressed Limbaugh. “I would be grateful that they get the support they’ve earned next weekend. I know they are pumped to get to play one more time at home.”
The three-day tournament will take place April 5-7 at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee. Check back with VUCommodores.com for more information on the Mason Rudolph Championship.
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