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Golfweek Tabs Vanderbilt 23rd 9/7/2004
Golfweek Tabs Vanderbilt 23rd Preseason accolades continue to roll in for the Vanderbilt men’s golf program as Golfweek Magazine has tabbed the Commodores at #23 in its preseason Top 25 poll. On an individual level, sophomore Luke List, fresh off a runner-up finish at the 104th U.S. Amateur, has been selected as the #5-ranked golfer in the country and a preseason First-Team All-America. Highly-regarded Vanderbilt rookie Brett Lange of Atlanta, Ga., was honored by the publication as one of eight national “Freshmen to Watch.” Florida and Georgia hold down the top two spots in the Golfweek poll with Clemson, Arizona State and Oklahoma State rounding out the top five. UNLV, with All-American and returning individual nation champion Ryan Moore on its roster, starts the campaign at sixth, while Texas, Georgia Tech, New Mexico and Auburn complete the top 10 spots. The Wildcats of Arizona are 11th followed by Kentucky, South Carolina, Duke and BYU. Positions 16 through 20 are held by Southern California, Pepperdine, Augusta State, Tennessee and Washington, respectively. Oklahoma is 21st followed by defending national team champion UCLA at #22. Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Southern Methodist round out the top 25. List, a 2004 First Team All-SEC selection and Third Team Ping All-America, enters this season fresh off a successful rookie campaign that included nine top-10 finishes in 13 events. The Ringgold, Ga., native posted Vanderbilt’s best scoring average at 72.03 and set two school records (lowest single round score and most strokes under par in a single round) with a 9-under par 63 at the Hyatt/Dorado Beach Intercollegiate. Over the summer, List made his mark nationally with a stirring run to the 36-hole championship match at the 104th U.S. Amateur in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Among the players the VU sophomore defeated during his march through the 64-player bracket were University of Kentucky senior John Holmes (#4 in the Golfweek individual rankings), Danny Green, a veteran of almost 40 USGA national events, two-time Walker Cup participant Trip Kuehne and last year’s Division I individual runner-up Chris Nallen, a graduate of the University of Arizona. Freshman Brett Lange enters Vanderbilt with impressive credentials of his own. A two-time honorable mention Polo Junior Golf All-America selection, Lange participated as a member of the East squad at the 2003 Canon Cup and won the prestigious 2002 Western Junior Championship with rounds of 69-69-69-68=(275). The Atlanta, Ga., native posted a tie for second at the 2002 Chrysler American Junior Golf Association’s Boys Invitational and most recently advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2004 Western Amateur. The Vanderbilt men’s golf squad, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Press McPhaul, will officially open the 2004-05 campaign in Rocky Face, Ga., at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic over Sept. 17-19. |
