TEMPE, Ariz. – The Commodore men’s golf team fired a three-over par, 283, in the first round of the Tempe Regional Thursday at the ASU Karsten Golf Course and are in ninth place, three strokes behind a group of five teams at even par that are tied for fourth place. The top five teams at the 14-team regional will advance to the NCAA Championship May 28-June 2 at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course in Atlanta.
The Commodores, who are making their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2010, were led by sophomore Hunter Stewart on day one of three at the Karsten Golf Course, who shot a two-under par, 68. The Lexington, Ky., native is in a tie for sixth, and trails Pontus Widegren of UCLA and Dustin Korte of Austin Peay by four strokes on the individual leader board.
“I thought we did a really good job of competing until the end and finishing strong,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “That’s all I asked the guys to do, control their body language and fight all the way. Obviously, Hunter played a nice round and was able to birdie the last which was a nice way to end the day. Our focus will continue to be on controlling the things we can control and being resilient.”
Sophomore Ben Fogler was next for Vanderbilt, firing a one-over par 71. Junior Charlie Ewing and freshman Zack Jaworski each carded a 72, and sophomore Jordan Janico shot a 77.
Number-one seed UCLA ran away from the field on Thursday, shooting a team score of 12-under par, 268, ten strokes better than second-place Duke. Austin Peay is in third at one-under par, and Georgia, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Clemson, and UCF are clustered in fourth place at even par.
9. Vanderbilt – 283
T6. Hunter Stewart – 68
T28. Ben Fogler – 71
T42. Charlie Ewing – 72
T42. Zack Jaworski – 72
T67. Jordan Janico – 77
