BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — On a tough and competitive day of golf Tuesday, Vanderbilt fell into a tie for eighth at The Collegiate Invitational at the Country Club of Birmingham.
The Commodores were 13-over-par as a team and are now 16-over-par for the tournament with 18 holes left to play Wednesday.
“It was a great test of golf out there today. It’s a championship course and really identifies who has ball control and enough mental toughness to hang in the fight,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “I don’t think we did a good enough job today understanding the day and that’s partly my fault.
“We need to do a better job preparing our minds for days like today and we will.”
William Moll posted Vandy’s top score of the day and was the lone Dore under par with a 2-under-par 69. The sophomore is tied for second and seven strokes back of leader Bryce Lewis (-9) of Tennessee.
Matthew Riedel (+4) was 4-over-par Tuesday and is tied for 26th while Reid Davenport (+5) was 5-over-par and is tied for 32nd. Michael Shears (+9) is tied for 58th and Harrison Ott (+15) is tied for 75th.
Cole Sherwood, competing as an individual, is tied for sixth after a second straight round of 71.
“William was really great today after a tough start and he finished like a champion,” Limbaugh said. “Our team had to have that round and he delivered once again. Cole was also really solid and is continuing to take good steps.”
Vanderbilt will look to climb the leaderboard when its final round begins at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Tennessee and Clemson lead the field with a two-day total of 571 (+3).
“We can learn from our mistakes and we can keep future goals in mind, but the only way to reach our potential is to focus on what we must do now, this moment, this day — to perform closer to our standards,” Limbaugh said. “And that’s the Vandy Golf standard.”
