March 2, 2018
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Commodores, behind an under-par performance by junior Courtney Zeng, are tied for 10th place after the opening round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from the Long Cove Club.
The Commodores appeared likely to post a top-five team effort Friday, but couldn’t capitalize on their last two holes at the tough 6,160-yard Pete Dye Course. Finishing their first round on the ninth hole, the Commodores collectively went 5-over over holes eight and nine to conclude the day with an 11-over total of 295. The 29th-ranked Vanderbilt squad is tied with No. 5 Duke in 10th place, but are just three strokes out of fifth place.
Zeng, from Orlando, Fla., was superb throughout the day. Starting with a birdie on her second hole, Zeng was three-under through 14 holes before settling for a round of one-under 70. She is tied for seventh place on the individual leaderboard.
True freshmen Morgan Baxendale of Orlando and Virginia Green of Fairhope Ala., followed Zeng with rounds of 74 and 75, respectively. Sophomore Abbey Carlson, another Orlando product, finished with a round of 78 that included double bogeys on two par-5s. Freshman Louise Yu of Duluth, Ga., struggled early and finished with an 80 on the coastal venue.
Head coach Greg Allen said the Commodores easily could have registered a lower team total.
“I’m proud of the girls for their attitude and effort. For most of the day, we did what we needed to do to score on this course. Unfortunately, we made some costly mistakes that resulted in big numbers,” Allen said.
“This Pete Dye Course is so good and there is no let up anywhere. It requires you to think on every shot and forces you to hit quality shots all day, which we did well for the most part,” Allen added.
The Commodores produced 14 birdies on the day, more than any other team. They also topped every other team in par-4 performance, posting a tournament-low 4.02 scoring average on the 11 par-4s. But Vanderbilt didn’t have the same success on the par-3s or par-5s. Collectively, the Commodores shot 10-over on the par-3s and nine-over on the par-5s.
“We have to come back tomorrow and play the par-5s better and eliminate the big numbers. If we can do that, this team will move up the leaderboard,” Allen said.
Zeng opened her round with a birdie on No. 11, then produced four birdies over a six-hole stretch to post her under-par score. Zeng’s 70 marked her career-best round at the Rucker Intercollegiate.
Vanderbilt is paired with Atlantic Coast Conference teams Virginia and Wake Forest during the second round Saturday. The Commodores, Cavaliers and Demon Deacons will tee off on No. 10, starting at 9:10 a.m. CT.
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Team Scores
1. Alabama (+2) 286
2. Northwestern (+3) 287
3. Arkansas (+6) 290
4. LSU (+7) 291
T-5. Furman (+8) 292
T-5. Miss. State (+8) 292
T-7. Arizona State (+9) 293
T-7. North Carolina (+9) 293
9. Georgia (+10) 294
T-10. Vanderbilt (+11) 295
T-10. Duke (+11) 295
12. Wake Forest (+12) 296
13. South Carolina (+14) 298
14. Baylor (+15) 299
15. Tennessee (+16) 300
16. Virginia (+17) 301
T-17. Auburn (+20) 304
T-17. Okla. State (+20) 304
Vanderbilt Individual Results
T-7. Courtney Zeng (-1) 70
T-32. Morgan Baxendale (+3) 74
T-42. Virginia Green (+4) 75
T-53. Abbey Carlson (+5) 76
86. Louise Yu (+9) 80
