FORT WORTH, Texas – The Vanderbilt men’s golf team jumped out to a solid start at the prestigious Nike Collegiate Invitational Sunday at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and are two shots back of first-place Oklahoma after the first round of competition with a team total of five-under par, 275. Freshman John Augenstein paced the Commodore effort at Colonial on Sunday with a first-round 66, which ties him for the individual lead with the Sooners’ Blaine Hale heading into the second round Monday.
The Commodores, who have not played a competition round of golf in nearly a month, showed no rust on the par-70, 7,204-yard layout, counting Augenstein’s 66, a 67 from sophomore Will Gordon, who is in a tie for third on the individual leader board, and a pair of 71’s from senior Matthias Schwab and sophomore Patrick Martin.
“We had some fun out there today,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “It’s a very demanding course that requires your full attention on every shot. John and Will played great today and really carried the team. They got off to great starts and were able to maintain the momentum all day which was big for them. Also, Patrick showed a ton of resiliency today after a rough start. We need to have the same competitive character tomorrow that we showed today and embrace our growth as a group.”
Altogether, Vanderbilt counted 16 birdies and an eagle for their team score on Sunday, with Gordon posting five to lead the Commodores and Augenstein and Schwab each carding four birdies. Augenstein carded one of only two eagles on the day.
This week’s field includes nine teams ranked in the Golf Coaches Association of America top 19.
Vanderbilt will tee off with Oklahoma and Florida off of number one beginning at 9:30 Central Time Monday morning.
2. Vanderbilt – 275
T1. John Augenstein – 66
T3. Will Gordon – 67
T27. Matthias Schwab – 71
T27. Patrick Martin – 71
T56. Theo Humphrey – 75
