SAN ANTONIO – The No. 4-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team had four golfers card under par in Round 3 of the Valero Texas Collegiate on Monday to help the Commodores finish in fifth place.
The quartet of Wells Williams, Gordon Sargent, Jackson Van Paris, and John Broderick finished under par in Round 3, while Ryan Downes carded even par in Monday’s finale. Vandy’s performance in the third round allowed the Dores to move up one spot on the team leaderboard and conclude the tournament in fifth place with a score of 14-under 850.
“I’m really proud of our guys and the grit we showed today in finishing the tournament,” said Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We take a lot of pride in finishing strong, and we know we are better than what we showed yesterday.
“Great to see Wells step up and play closer to his standard today. It really lifted our team up. It was also big to see Gordon and Jackson in it all day and finish the way they did on the last hole. They have high expectations for themselves, and we have to help them not try too hard and just allow good golf to happen. John played really well this week and is competing with a lot of consistency, which is great to see.”
Sargent and Van Paris each carded 2-under 70 in their third round of play at TPC San Antonio. The pair of seniors collected four birdies apiece in Round 3. Junior John Broderick went 1-under on Monday, as he has carded par-or-better in all six of his rounds this season. The trio finished the Valero Texas Collegiate in a tie for 11th with a 54-hole score of 4-under 212.
Williams carded a season-best 3-under 69 in Round 3. The junior posted an eagle on Hole 8 and sat at 4-under at the turn. He added another birdie on Hole 15 before wrapping up the round at 3-under. Monday’s efforts pushed Williams up 18 spots on the player leaderboard, as he ends the tournament in a tie for 32nd at even par 216.
Rowan Sullivan, who was playing as an individual at the Valero Texas Collegiate, finished in a tie for 24th after finishing a career-best 1-under 215.
No. 8-ranked Oklahoma captured the team title at the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate, as the Sooners posted a three-round score of 30-under 834. Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert and Virginia’s Ben James shared the tournament’s individual title with both carding 12-under 204.
The Commodores return to the course next week, as they’ll travel back to the Lone Star State for the 2024 Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational. The tournament takes place Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We are climbing as a team right now, and we are doing a lot of good things, but we have to keep taking ownership of our actions,” added Limbaugh. “Our actions determine our outcomes, and great competitors believe in themselves and take ownership of their actions. It’s our responsibility to help get more out of our guys so we can keep climbing to be the team we want to be.”
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