NCAA Championships Await

Commodores' quest for national championship begins Friday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Commodores’ quest for a national championship begins Friday afternoon at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when they tee it up with the nation’s top teams at the NCAA Championships. Vanderbilt, who enters the tournament as the nation’s fourth-best team, is making its sixth consecutive trip and ninth overall to the NCAA Championships.

The Commodores, who will send seniors Will Gordon and Patrick Martin, junior John Augenstein, sophomore Harrison Ott, freshman Reid Davenport, and junior Andrew Jacobe (alternate) to compete in the championship, will tee off with Texas and Oklahoma on Friday at 12:32 p.m. and Saturday at 7:12 a.m. CT at the par-72, 7,550-yard layout.

"We have really enjoyed the last week hanging out and preparing for this final tournament,we know this has been and has to continue to be done together. It's the time of year when players play and when your moments come you have to trust the work you have put in and embrace them. Our focus is on believing in ourselves, trusting your teammates, and allowing our talent and toughness to take over. The best part about being part of a team and a family is that you are never alone. As a team, you have built-in allies that we want all of our guys to take comfort in. I have said all year that I love this team and I love the leadership we have. My expectation is that we will go play Vandy golf, choose confidence, have fun, and compete to our standards."

Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh

The Commodores have had considerable success at collegiate golf’s premiere event since Limbaugh’s arrival in 2012, finishing first in stroke play in 2017, second in 2015, and fourth in 2016, while advancing to match play in each of those three seasons, including a semifinal appearance in 2017.

NCAA Championship Schedule
May 24-27, 2019 – Stroke Play: 72 Holes
Friday, May 24: First Round (18)- 7 a.m. CT
Saturday, May 25: Second Round (18) – 7 a.m. CT
Sunday, May 26: Third Round (18) – 7 a.m. CT
Top 15 teams advance
Monday, May 27: Final Round (18) – 11:30 a.m. CT
(Golf Channel coverage from 3-8 CT)
Top 8 teams advance to match play

May 28-29, 2019 – Match Play
Tuesday, May 28: Match Play Quarterfinals – 7 a.m. CT
(Golf Channel coverage 10:30 am -12:30 pm)
Tuesday, May 28: Match Play Semifinals – 1:30 p.m. CT
(Golf Channel coverage 3:30-7 pm)
Wednesday, May 29: Championship Match – 2:10 p.m. CT
(Golf Channel coverage 3-7 pm)

Limbaugh In Seventh Season
Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh is one of the nation’s best head coaches, and his turn around of the Commodore program since his arrival in 2012 has been remarkable.  He has mentored four first-team All-Americans, seven Palmer Cup selections, a Walker Cup member and 13 total All-America selections, all while also garnering seven consecutive NCAA Regional bids and six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2014-19 for the first time in program history. Under Limbaugh, Vanderbilt has won 23 team tournaments — the most by a head coach in Vanderbilt golf history — and garnered 17 individual tournament winners. The coach has also led Vanderbilt to a first-place (2017), second-place (2015) and fourth-place (2016) finish in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship, Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016, and a Final Four appearance in the 2017 NCAA Championship.  He has also had three of his players participate in a PGA Tour event while still playing for the Commodores: Hunter Stewart in 2014 at the RBC Heritage, Matthias Schwab at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2017, and John Augenstein at the 2019 RBC Heritage.

Astonishingly, 12 of the top 15 single-season stroke averages in the history of the program have been with Limbaugh at the helm, with Gordon posting the program’s top all-time single-season stroke average this year at 69.21. Six of the top 10 all-time scoring averages have come with Limbaugh as the head coach, with Schwab’s 70.81 career average leading the way. With three All-SEC honorees this season, Limbaugh has now coached 19 All-SEC selections in his seven-year tenure with the Commodores.

In 2019, Limbaugh capured his second SEC Coach of the Year award (other in 2017). He will also serve as the U.S. Palmer Cup co-captain this summer at the Alotian Club in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Unbelievable Senior Class
Seniors Will Gordon and Patrick Martin have changed the trajectory of the Commodore men’s golf program. Here’s a look at their accomplishments:

  • 16 team championships
  • 5 individual titles
  • 2017 NCAA Stroke Play Champions
  • Two-time NCAA match-play participants (2016, 2017)
  • 2017 NCAA Semifinalists
  • Five GCAA All-America honors
  • Seven All-SEC honors
  • Three Palmer Cup selections
  • Two GCAA All-America Scholar honors
  • Both have hit the same amount of strokes in their career – 9,504 career strokes in 134 events for a 70.93 stroke average

Golfstat Rankings
Vanderbilt enters the NCAA Championships as the number four in the nation according to Golfstat.com.

All-SEC 
Senior Will Gordon was named the SEC Player of the Year in 2019, the second straight season a Commodore has claimed the honor. Theo Humphrey was awarded the honor last season. Head coach Scott Limbaugh was named the Coach of the Year, while senior Patrick Martin and junior John Augenstein were named to the first team. Vanderbilt was the only team in the Southeastern Conference with three players on the All-SEC first team.