RIVERSIDE, Iowa — Vanderbilt senior Hudson Johnson opened the 2009 season with a third-place finish at the 2009 Golfweek Collegiate Conference Challenge at the Blue Top Ridge Golf Course.
Johnson’s three-day total of 209 (-7) helped the Commodore men’s golf team finish in seventh place in the impressive 15-team field. The Longview, Texas native was only two strokes back of Florida State’s Drew Kittleson and Iowa’s Brad Hopfinger, who shared medalist honors. Johnson carded three under-par rounds for the week, closing with a two-under 70 on Tuesday.
As a team, the Commodores dropped two spots on Tuesday but still managed to finish in the top half of the field. Florida State overtook host Iowa to claim the team championship with a final score of 11-under, eight strokes free of the Hawkeyes. Coastal Carolina, California, Baylor and MTSU rounded out the top six, with the Blue Raiders one stroke ahead of Vanderbilt.
Commodore senior Chris Rockwell (+7) finished in a tie for 36th place, one stroke ahead of junior Ryan Haselden (+8) and sophomore Trey DelGreco (+8), who tied for 41st. Sophomore Ben Klaus (+11) ended the week in a tie for 52nd place.
The Commodores will return home and next play host to the 2009 Mason Rudolph Championships later this month, Sept. 25-27, at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
