Sept. 17, 2017
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Commodores earned a solid fourth place team finish in the 17th Annual Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship Sunday at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
Greg Allen’s Commodores, the second youngest squad in the impressive 15-team Mason Rudolph field, finished 22-under par with a team score of 842. The result was a substantial scoring improvement for the Commodores over a year ago.
Additionally, sophomore Abbey Carlson put together her best collegiate effort to pace the Commodores, finishing in the fourth-place tie with a 10-under par total of 206. She was supported by freshman Louise Yu (4-under 212), junior Courtney Zeng (3-under 213), freshman Morgan Baxendale (even par 216) and freshman Virginia Green (three-over 219).
Arkansas, playing in the Mason Rudolph for the first time in recent years, was an impressive wire-to-wire winner in the team competition. The Razorbacks established a new tournament record by accumulating a remarkable 41-under par 823 total. They broke the previous record of 39-under par set last year by Alabama.
The Razorbacks’ top performer, Maria Fassi, and Alabama’s Lauren Stephenson shared the individual tournament title. Both broke the former Mason Rudolph record by shooting 16-under par 200.
In finishing fourth, the Commodores registered a remarkable one-year turnaround at the Mason Rudolph. This squad finished 41 strokes lower than the 2016 unit.
Allen said the future looks bright for a Vanderbilt squad that is getting key contributions from three first-year players.
“We have so many things to be excited about,” Allen said. “We played really, really well and beat some quality teams. Our young team is gaining a ton of confidence early in the season and I absolutely love what we have going on.
“We have six players right now that are playing with a lot of heart, a lot of confidence and want to compete and get better every single day. That’s the kind of team I love being around,” Allen added.
Carlson, from Lake Mary, Fla., fought hard to maintain her second-round lead, but couldn’t hold off the charge of Fassi and Stephenson. Both posted impressive eight-under par 64 on Sunday.
For Carlson, the final round looked promising after back-to-back birdies on No. 7 and No. 8, but she didn’t register another birdie until the par-4 17th hole. At No. 18, Carlson finished with a remarkable recovery for par after putting her drive in the water.
Yu, playing in her first collegiate competition at the Mason, posted a second sub-70 round, reeling off five birdies over the last 12 holes after starting two-over par through six holes. She finished with a 69. Zeng, from Orlando, Fla., and Green, from Fairhope, Ala., both shot an even-par round of 72.
Baxendale, from Windermere, Fla., recovered from a poor start with two late birdies to finish with a 75.
A sixth Commodore in the field, senior Alexandra Farnsworth, capped a two-under par 70 with an eagle at No. 9, her finishing hole.
The Commodores will take three weeks away from competition before traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. in mid-October for the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational.
Mason Rudolph Team Results
1. Arkansas 823 (273-277-273)
2. Alabama 829 (284-272-273)
3. Arizona State 839 (277-276-286)
4. Vanderbilt 842 (275-283-284)
5. Northwestern 847 (285-280-282)
6. South Carolina 853 (289-284-280)
7. Auburn 857 (285-284-857)
8. Virginia 861 (290-289-861)
9. Clemson 867 (296-281-867)
10. Houston 871 (288-296-871)
11. North Carolina 873 (294-288-873)
12. Chattanooga 882 (292-293-)
13. UCF 889 (300-291-889)
14. Middle Tennessee 890 (293-302-890)
15. Charlotte 899 (300-300-299)
Vanderbilt Individuals
T-4. Abbey Carlson (-10) 66-69-71=202
T-18. Louise Yu (-4) 68-75-69=212
T-22. Courtney Zeng (-3) 69-72-72=213
T-22. Alexandra Farnsworth (-3) 74-69-70=213
T-35. Morgan Baxendale (E) 72-69-75=216
T-44. Virginia Green (+3) 74-73-72=219
