EUGENE, Ore. – The Vanderbilt men’s golf team finished with a first-round total of 283 and are in a tie for third on the team leader board at the NCAA Championship at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, after the first day of play. Sophomore Theo Humphrey led Vanderbilt on the opening day and is tied for the individual lead after carding a first-round 67 on the par-70, 7,014-yard layout.
The Commodores are tied with San Diego State and USC for third, and trail opening-round leaders Arkansas and TCU by one shot heading into the second round Saturday.
The Commodores, who have closed well all year, continued that pattern on Friday, counting six birdies and an eagle on their back nine. Humphrey, who led the team with five birdies, had three birdies on the back nine, and freshman Patrick Martin, who ended his round with a 73, also carded three birdies on his last nine holes. Freshman Will Gordon was even on his back nine, with two bogeys and an eagle on the 528-yard, par-five. Junior Matthias Schwab was one-over on his back nine and also one-over for his round.
“Theo seemed to be in control all day,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “He’s been playing well. He’s played well at home, and he played well last week at regionals. It was just a good round by him. It was an overall team effort, and that’s what we’ve talked about. Doing this thing together, and it’s going to take everyone controlling their own play box, doing the little things, and staying positive. There’s going to be some adversity, and we’re going to have to overcome it.”
Humphrey, who is tied with Nahum Mendoza III of San Diego State and Will Starke of South Carolina for the individual lead, is tied for second in the tournament in birdies with five, and is tied for third in par-four scoring average at 3.83.
“Well, for the first 11 holes, I hit the ball fantastic and gave myself a lot of opportunities, and was three-under through 11, which is a fantastic start,” said Humphrey. “In the last few holes, I hit some shots in the trees, but when I got in there, I was able to make some pars and birdies and was just really happy to have a good round for the team today.”
The Commodores counted Schwab’s 71, a 72 from Gordon, and a 73 from Martin. Senior Carson Jacobs carded a 10-over, 80, for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt will tee off at 7:55 a.m. Pacific time on hole number one, and will again play with Arizona State and Auburn on Saturday.
“Today was a great test,” said Limbaugh. “It’s hard. You’ve got to put your ball in play and you have to be tough enough to put it back in play. I think we did a good job of that today. I’m really proud of Patrick. As a freshman, sometimes the first round can be the toughest one. But, we can’t make it more than what it is, and it’s just golf, and we just have to play the game. Overall, it was a good day, a good step, and that’s all it was. One day of a marathon. We just need to come out tomorrow with same enthusiasm and understand what we have to do to play our game and play Vanderbilt golf.”
T3. Vanderbilt – 283
T1. Theo Humphrey – 67
T33. Matthias Schwab – 71
T52. Will Gordon – 72
T72. Patrick Martin – 73
156. Carson Jacobs – 80
