BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Vanderbilt men’s golf team fired a two-round total of 580 (287-293) at the Jerry Pate Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham, Ala., and are in eighth place after the first day of play at the Old Overton Club. Commodore senior Charlie Ewing led all Vanderbilt players with a two-round score of 143 (70-73), good for a tie for 17th place on the individual leader board.
Alabama leads the tournament after two rounds with a score of 552 (274-278), 10 strokes better than second-place Texas A&M, who carded a 262 (284-278).
“I really thought the guys competed hard,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “It was a long day and we have to learn to focus on the right things when our minds get tired. We have been working on doing the simple things correctly and I saw signs of improvement in that area. In order for us to get to where I know we can get, we must eliminate the big numbers and play all 18 holes each round. That’s what is encouraging is that all our mistakes are correctable and everyone is excited about the opportunity to go out and compete again tomorrow.”
Ewing’s 143 paced all Vanderbilt players, with true freshman Matthias Schwab two strokes behind Ewing at 145 (72-73), which tied for 20th on the individual leader board. Juniors Hunter Stewart and Jordan Janico each fired a 147, and sophomore Zack Jaworski is in the clubhouse after two rounds with a score of 150 (76-74).
Wilson McDonald of UAB leads all individuals with a total of 132 (65-67), and has a four-stroke lead on Franco Castro of Charlotte and Ben Crancer of Texas A&M.
The third and final round concludes on Tuesday morning.
8. Vanderbilt – 287-293=580
T17. Charlie Ewing – 70-73=143
T20. Matthias Schwab – 72-73=145
T30. Hunter Stewart – 74-73=147
T30. Jordan Janico – 71-76=147
T48. Zack Jaworski – 76-74=150
