BRADENTON, Fla.- After a slow start Friday in the first round at the 2015 NCAA Championship, the Commodores’ men’s golf team roared up the team leaderboard 15 places to a tie for fifth after posting a tournament-best 284 in the second round of the tournament at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. Senior Hunter Stewart finished Saturday’s play with a team-leading three-under par, 69, the lowest individual round of the morning wave.
Vanderbilt, who entered the second round in a tie for 20th at 13-over par, steadied their way around Concession with very consistent, all-around play. The Commodores counted Stewart’s 69, a 71 from sophomore Matthias Schwab, and a pair of even-par, 72’s from junior Carson Jacobs and freshman Theo Humphrey. Junior Zack Jaworski, who led the team on Friday with a one-under, 71, also posted a solid round with a two-over, 74.
The Commodores are now in a tie for fifth with South Florida heading into the third round on Sunday. Vanderbilt will play with the Bulls and LSU on Sunday, with tee times beginning at 12:20 ET.
“This tournament is a marathon, and today was just another day of getting on this golf course and learning it,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “This is a really hard golf course. I just felt that yesterday, we came out in protection mode. It’s the first round of the NCAA Championship, so those things can happen. But, I really knew that the round Jaws played on Friday was big and I felt like we came out here today a little more aggressive and played more like Vanderbilt Golf.”
Combined, the Vanderbilt counted 16 birdies, and 20 if you include Jaworski’s birdie total. Schwab had six, Stewart, Jacobs, and Jaworski four apiece, and Humphrey two with an eagle, which he registered on the 592-yard, par-five 17th.
“I just told the guys last night, `Let’s just get five guys going,'” continued Limbaugh. “When we’ve had success this year, we’ve had five guys in there. And, it just gives everyone a comfort. You look at today, and Matthias is two-over par through three holes, battles back and shoots one-under. Theo was three-over and comes back to shoot even. Carson’s round was steady and huge for us. And Zack, who was four-over with five to go, comes back to shoot two-over. Hunter and Matthias are just solid, and that just gives everyone comfort knowing those two guys are back there doing their thing with good body language and all those things that matter that we talk about.”
The Commodores, who at 1:30 p.m. CT are in a tie for 8th, have the potential to move even higher with seven of the nine ahead or tied with them playing in the afternoon. Vanderbilt’s four-under, 284, was six shots better than any other morning wave team.
“I got off to a rough start and bogeyed two of my first three holes, but I wasn’t too worried about it, because I felt like I was hitting them good,” said sophomore Schwab. “I missed two short putts in the first three holes, and then made three birdies in a row, and kind of was back in it. Overall, I was hitting them really well today. I made six birdies, but also made some bad decisions on a few holes, which kept me from shooting a really good round.”
Stewart, the SEC’s Player of the Year and a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award, had only one bogey in his round, and thought Vanderbilt played more aggressive and with more precision on Saturday.
“I think yesterday, we played to not mess up, and you can’t do that around a championship-level, USGA-style test,” said Stewart. “You find yourself making pars when you can make birdies and bogeys when you can make pars. We have a lot of good players, and we just tried to free it up today by hitting good shots to good spots. Just play the course for what it was. There were some nice rounds played yesterday, so we knew it could be done. We’re good players and it’s tough, but if you hit good shots and good targets, good things happen. That’s what happened to us today. We just came out here with a little conviction and nothing to lose, just going about our business like we always do. It was a total team effort, and I’m really proud of the guys. We had to throw out a two-over par today, which is a joke.”
Three named to All-Region Team
Three Commodores, senior Hunter Stewart, sophomore Matthias Schwab, and freshman Theo Humphrey were named to the PING All-Region Team Saturday by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Limbaugh named as Coach of the Year Finalist
Head coach Scott Limbaugh was recently named as one of five finalists for the Dave Williams Award presented by Golf Pride Grips, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate coach. Limbaugh joins John Fields of Texas, Florida State’s Trey Jones, Tim Mickelson of Arizona State and Mike Small of Illinois.
Vanderbilt – 301-284=585
T12. Hunter Stewart – 74-69=143
T22. Zack Jaworski – 71-74=145
T30. Matthias Schwab – 75-71=146
T94. Carson Jacobs – 81-72=153
T94. Theo Humphrey – 81-72=153
