Commodore Men Hit SEC Links

Commodore Men Hit SEC Links

4/20/2006

ST. SIMON’S ISLAND, Ga. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team opens play in the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship, teeing off of the first hole at Sea Island Golf Club’s par-70, 6,898-yard Seaside Course at 8 a.m. ET Friday.

The Commodores are looking to improve upon last year’s 12th place finish in the event. If results from recent weeks are any indication, Vanderbilt should be looking forward to this weekend. At The Hootie at Bulls Bay in March, the Commodores posted a top 10 finish, bettering seven teams in the field, including league rivals Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn.

They followed that performance up with a sixth place finish at the Courtyard by Marriott Intercollegiate.

“We are coming off of our two best tournaments of the year,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Press McPhaul said. “If we can maintain our momentum, this will be a big tournament for us.”

McPhaul took a young group to this year’s event, with one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen. Junior Luke List is the elder statesman of the lineup, having recorded a pair of Top 20 finishes in previous SEC Tournament appearances. Sophomore Brett Lange is the only other Commodore that has participated in an SEC Tournament. The pair of veterans are joined by sophomore John Ebert and freshmen Jon Curran and Tyler Matthews. Both List and Lange are Georgia natives.

“Our team loves this venue,” McPhaul added. “Sea Island is a great place to play golf, and our guys have had some great experiences here. Brett and Luke finished one and two at the 2002 Western Junior Championship. Then they played with Jon Curran on the East team of the 2003 Canon Cup. So we may not have too much experience in SEC Tournaments, but we have a lot of experience at this golf course.”

The field includes eight of the nation’s top 50 teams, including No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Florida. Ten of the top 50 individuals in the country will be competing in the three-day, 54-hole event, including List, ranked 26th by Golfweek/Sagarin.

ST. SIMON’S ISLAND, Ga. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team opens play in the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship, teeing off of the first hole at Sea Island Golf Club’s par-70, 6,898-yard Seaside Course at 8 a.m. ET Friday.

The Commodores are looking to improve upon last year’s 12th place finish in the event. If results from recent weeks are any indication, Vanderbilt should be looking forward to this weekend. At The Hootie at Bulls Bay in March, the Commodores posted a top 10 finish, bettering seven teams in the field, including league rivals Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn.

They followed that performance up with a sixth place finish at the Courtyard by Marriott Intercollegiate.

“We are coming off of our two best tournaments of the year,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Press McPhaul said. “If we can maintain our momentum, this will be a big tournament for us.”

McPhaul took a young group to this year’s event, with one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen. Junior Luke List is the elder statesman of the lineup, having recorded a pair of Top 20 finishes in previous SEC Tournament appearances. Sophomore Brett Lange is the only other Commodore that has participated in an SEC Tournament. The pair of veterans are joined by sophomore John Ebert and freshmen Jon Curran and Tyler Matthews. Both List and Lange are Georgia natives.

“Our team loves this venue,” McPhaul added. “Sea Island is a great place to play golf, and our guys have had some great experiences here. Brett and Luke finished one and two at the 2002 Western Junior Championship. Then they played with Jon Curran on the East team of the 2003 Canon Cup. So we may not have too much experience in SEC Tournaments, but we have a lot of experience at this golf course.”

The field includes eight of the nation’s top 50 teams, including No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Florida. Ten of the top 50 individuals in the country will be competing in the three-day, 54-hole event, including List, ranked 26th by Golfweek/Sagarin.