Dropping Anchor in Auburn

No. 1 national seed Commodores begin postseason run May 15

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt is taking its show to the Yellowhammer State.

The Commodores learned their NCAA Regional destination Wednesday during the NCAA postseason selection show. They are one of 13 squads selected to play at the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Alabama, in hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships on May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Not only will Vandy be the No. 1 seed in Auburn, it is also the No. 1 overall seed nationally. It’s the second time in program history the Commodores have been the No. 1 overall seed and the sixth time in program history it has been a No. 1 seed at an NCAA Regional.

“I am really proud of our guys and the consistency they played with all year which earned the No. 1 overall seed for NCAAs,” Vandy head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “That’s a great accomplishment and something we should take a lot of pride in.”

Vanderbilt, ranked No. 1 nationally by Golfstat and Golfweek and in the GCAA Coaches’ Poll, will tee off May 15 in the three-day, 54-hole tournament used to decide who moves on to the next round. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance.

One of 81 teams to make the national postseason, Vanderbilt will be looking for a third straight regional title having won the 2021 Kingston Springs Regional and the 2022 Palm Beach Gardens Regional.

The Auburn Regional field also includes Tennessee, Auburn, Colorado State, Ohio State, Washington, Texas Christian, Chattanooga, Houston, Marquette, Indiana, Augusta and Siena. Alex Goff (Kentucky), Brantley Scott (Troy), Erik Jansson (Jacksonville State), Tobias Jonsson (Mercer), Cameron Clarke (Southern Mississippi), Brian Ma (Harvard), Jackson Skeen (Tennessee Tech), Luka Naglic (Arkansas State), Hugo Thyr (South Alabama) and Killian McGinley (Fairfield) will be competing as individuals.

The Commodores are coming off a third straight finals appearance at the SEC Championships on April 23. They finished fourth in stroke play before falling to Florida on the final hole in the championship match.

Vandy’s 2022-23 season has been an historic one as the Commodores have won more regular-season team titles than any squad before. Vanderbilt won the Mason Rudolph Championship, Cabo Collegiate, Watersound Invitational, John Hayt Invitational, East Lake Cup and Frederica Cup.

“We have had some time off to rest, recover and take finals after a very busy month of April. Our job now as a group to embrace the opportunity in front of us,” Limbaugh said. “What we have done so far has been a  lot of fun with different guys stepping up along the way and we will need more of that going forward. This team will be remembered for what we do in the NCAA Tournament and it does not allow you to skip steps.

“Each step requires having a present mindset and having all of our guys competing to our Vandy Golf DNA. If one person is not doing that then we cannot be the best version of ourselves. I believe in this team and I’m excited for the opportunity we have going forward.”