CHARLESTON, S.C. – The No. 3-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team captured its third team title of the 2025-26 season by carding 30-under 834 to win The Bryson Invitational, while sophomore Ryan Downes earned medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career.
The victory at The Bryson Invitational marks the second-straight win for the Commodores, while it is their third overall team title of the 2025 fall season. By carding 30-under 834 at The Bryson Invitational, the Commodores matched the 10th-best 54-hole score vs. par in program history, equaling the 30-under total at the 2024 Mason Rudolph Championship.
It is Vandy’s 57th team victory since 1998-99, while it is Vanderbilt’s 49th win under Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach Scott Limbaugh.
Downes captured the individual title at The Bryson Invitational on his final hole of the tournament by tapping in a 3-foot putt. The sophomore carded a career-low 13-under 203 over three rounds of play at Daniel Island Club. Downes capped off his week by posting the lowest round score of the tournament, finishing at 8-under 64 in Round 3. It is the second-best round score of Downes’ career, with only his 10-under 61 performance on the opening day of the 2025 Mason Rudolph Championship besting his effort on Wednesday.
“What an awesome round today by our guys, and I am just thrilled to see them finish the fall season with such a strong day,” said Limbaugh. “I knew we would get pushed by these other teams, but our focus was on being a better version of ourselves, and we were able to do that today. Obviously, Ryan was outstanding all day long, and the shots he hit down the stretch were on another level. His round was one of the better rounds we’ve had at Vandy because of how tough it was today, and he just kept stepping up to the challenge.
“The guys really responded strongly today because we challenged them last night. I thought we had a few too many lapses in concentration in Round 2, and we’ve got to be better than that if we want to be our best. I told them it is all of our responsibility to take ownership of that. We were much more locked in today from the start, which was good to see.”
Junior Chase Nevins posted his highest finish as a Commodore at The Bryson Invitational, as the Great Falls, Virginia, native tied for seventh. Nevins carded a career-low 7-under 209 to post his first collegiate top-10 finish and held scores of 68-69-72.
Senior Wells Williams collected his fourth-straight top-10 finish of the fall, as he carded 6-under 210 during the week. Williams had his score count in all three rounds of The Bryson Invitational, extending his consecutive rounds counted streak to 50 rounds dating back to the 2023-24 campaign.
Freshman Jon Ed Steed also posted a career-low 18-hole score vs. par at The Bryson Invitational, as he finished at 2-under 214. Steed collected a team-high four eagles over three rounds of play at the Daniel Island Club this week, two of which came on Wednesday, where he carded a career-best 3-under vs. par to close out the tournament.
“It’s great to see guys step up under the heat,” Limbaugh expressed. “Jon Ed was huge for us, going out first and getting the momentum rolling early with two eagles in the first six holes. I thought that was big for our team. Chase was rock-solid this week and played with a ton of consistency, which was great to see. Wells capped off his fourth top-10 finish of the fall, which says so much about his consistency. He’s doing a great job leading our younger guys. This was a total team effort, and these days are never easy, and for our guys to start the day with the lead and post the low round of the day continues to show a lot about their character.”
Vanderbilt now heads into the winter break. The Commodores return to action Feb. 16-18, when they open the 2026 spring season at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City, Florida.
“We had a really solid fall season, and I saw a lot of improvement in a lot of different areas,” said Limbaugh about Vanderbilt’s fall campaign. “However, I also see a lot of areas we can improve upon over the next four months, and that’s where our focus will be. As a group, we have to embrace getting better so we can be our best when it matters the most. I like this team a lot, and I’m excited to see how each player embraces what they have to do to improve and get better going forward. Our actions determine our outcomes, so we have to keep demanding more of ourselves and each other. That’s the fun part.”
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt men’s golf team, follow @VandyMGolf on Instagram and Twitter/X.
