CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 2-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team concluded Round 1 of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at 9-over 297, as the Commodores finished the first day of stroke play in a tie for 12th on the team leaderboard.
Vanderbilt had to battle the elements during its first nine holes of play on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, which resulted in the Dores sitting at 10-over at the turn. The Commodores rebounded on their back nine on Friday, as Vandy carded 1-under par to finish Round 1 at 9-over 297.
“I’m super excited with how we finished, and I thought the guys did a great job at bouncing back,” said Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh. “This is a golf course that we didn’t know a lot about and knew it was going to be tough. It’s going to require some toughness and patience out there. I thought did a good job of that but played a little tighter early on and that’s a little bit of my fault. Everybody is excited to get going and a lot of times when that happens, you’re focusing on some outside things and you’ve just got to reset and lock in on what you’ve got to do. Once again, I’m super proud of how we finished.”
Junior Jackson Van Paris led the way for Vanderbilt during the opening round of stroke play at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, as he finished the day tied for 25th at 1-over 73. The Pinehurst, North Carolina, native finished Round 1 on a high note, as Van Paris went 3-under over his final nine holes, collecting three birdies along the way.
“I thought Jackson turning his round around today was really big for us,” Limbaugh expressed. “He looked at me after his 10th hole and said ‘Coach, I’m going to turn this around and I’m going to get it back,’ he did and I’m super proud of that.”
Graduate student Matthew Riedel finished one stroke behind Van Paris, as the Houston, Texas, native concluded Round 1 at 2-over 74. Riedel was one of five golfers to collect an eagle on the first day of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, as he finished 2-under on the par-5 Hole 2. Riedel heads into Saturday’s second round tied for 41st on the player leaderboard.
Senior Cole Sherwood and junior Gordon Sargent each carded 3-over 75 in Round 1, as the duo heads into Saturday tied for 63rd on the player leaderboard.
Arizona and Virginia sit atop the team leaderboard after 18 holes of play at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, as each team carded 2-over 290 in Round 1. Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai is leading the field going into Round 2 on Saturday, as he finished the first day at 5-under 67.
The Commodores are back in action Saturday for Round 2 of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. Vanderbilt tees off at 8:40 a.m. CT from the 1st tee on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. Fans can follow the action via live results at GolfStat.com.
“We need to be ready to go from the jump, starting with the front nine,” Limbaugh said. “We need to have some energy about us and have our fans bring some energy and we can do this thing together tomorrow.”
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