NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The #5-ranked Commodore men’s golf team finished fourth at the 54-hole New Haven Regional on Saturday with a final total of 844 (285-282-277) and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season and for the fifth time in the program’s history.
The NCAA Championship will take place May 29-June 3 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
The Commodores’ road to Bradenton was not an easy one, and was not secured until midway through their final round when a string of birdies by junior Carson Jacobs on holes seven through nine gave Vanderbilt a cushion ahead of the five-team cut line. The four counting Commodores then pushed strong on their back nine, with the team registering a combined 10 birdies down the stretch.
“It feels great. It was a total team effort today,” said Jacobs, who hails from Hendersonville, Tenn. “Matthias and Hunter were steady as always and the other guys threw in great rounds throughout the week. I knew going out first it was important for me to have a solid round, and I birdied seven, eight and nine to make the turn at two-under and I knew we had some momentum going into the back nine. I had a couple of three putts, but birdied 16 and then parred 17 and 18 to finish the round. Hunter then just does what Hunter does and birdies four of his last nine.
“As Coach says, the first step is to get through this and get a tee time, and now we’ll just go from there. It feels really good.”
Vanderbilt’s appearance in the NCAA Championship will mark only the second time the Commodores have played in two straight national championships (2003 and 2004; 2014 and 2015), with their other appearance coming in 2007.
“Days like today, when it gets hard, make you better,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We know what type of team we have, but days like this are fun. I am proud to coach these guys. They showed great toughness all week long. We took another step this week towards being the team we want to be.
“I thought Carson going out and setting the tone was really big for us. Also, all five of our guys were in there competing the entire day and that allowed us to get going on the back 9. Hunter played another huge round today and really lifted us up. It was truly a team effort.”
SEC Player of the Year Hunter Stewart showed his mettle in his final round Saturday, posting a four-under 66, with four birdies and no bogeys on his final-round scorecard. Jacobs had four birdies and ended his round at one-under par, 69, Matthias Schwab finished with an even-par 70, and junior Zack Jaworski was the last Vanderbilt counter at two-over, 72. Freshman Theo Humphrey finished his final round with a three-over 73.
Schwab was Vanderbilt’s top finisher, ending the tournament in a tie for second, with Stewart finishing in a tie for fifth.
“I got off to a nice start and my ball striking was great all week,” said Stewart, who birdied 12, 13, 14, and 16 on Saturday. “It was just nice to see a three-footer go in the hole on 12. It was my first birdie of the day after parring my first 11. I kind of stole one on 13, which is nice, and I stole one on 12 after missing my target there. I missed a lot of opportunities early, but stole two on 12 and 13 and holed nice putts on 14 and 16, which was nice. I just had to hang in there and continue to be positive. Coach walked with me today and we had a nice time together, and on the last holes, I just didn’t want this to be over for me. I think that was a big motivating factor.
“Having an opportunity to win at the end is what we play for, and that’s what we’ll have a chance to do in a few weeks. That’s what we all came here expecting to do, was to move on and survive and advance, and that’s what we did. We’re very pleased with that.”
Joining the Commodores in Bradenton from the New Haven Regional is team champion South Florida, San Diego State, Oklahoma State, and LSU, who began Saturday’s round 16 shots back of the cut line. Tolver Dozier of Troy will head to the NCAA Championship as the regional’s individual representative.
“We are excited because it’s so rewarding to be able to play for an NCAA Championship, but we know this isn’t the finish line,” said Limbaugh. “This is the next step on the ladder for us. We also know that everything we want is in front of us and we have to continue to have the right focus on the right things and put in the work.”
4. Vanderbilt – 285-282-277=844
T2. Matthias Schwab – 69-67-70=206
T5. Hunter Stewart – 70-71-66=207
T37. Theo Humphrey – 72-71-73=216
T44. Carson Jacobs – 74-75-69=218
T49. Zack Jaworski – 75-73-72=220
