TEMPE, Ariz. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team shot a five-under 282 Thursday and stands in a tie for 13th place after day one of the 2007 NCAA West Regional at Arizona State University’s Karsten Golf Course.
Only 10 teams will advance to the NCAA National Championships from the field of 27, and the Commodores stand only three strokes away from ninth place.
“The guys played well today,” VU Head Coach Tom Shaw said. “Even though Luke [List] didn’t play particularly well, the other guy picked him up. On an off day, we still hung tough and didn’t fall too far. They feel like they left a lot of shots out there. We’re anxious to head back out there in the morning and get after it.”
Junior Billy Whalen shot the Commodores’ low round of the day, a three-under 69. Whalen, who transferred to Vanderbilt from Arizona, is tied for 21st overall in the 141-player field.
Sophomore Tyler Matthews carded a two-under 70 that included an eagle on the par-5 10th.
“Tyler hit a big driver on the 10th, and followed that up with a great five iron about 25 feet from the pin,” Shaw said. “He made a nice curling, right-to-left putt. That really got him going and seemed to right the ship after shaky front side.”
Sophomore Jon Curran also went under-par, shooting a minus-1 71. Freshman Hudson Johnson, playing in only his second event of the spring, carded a one-over 73. As a team, the Commodores’ five-man lineup went six-under on the 10th hole (five birdies, one eagle) and five-under on the par-5 fifth (five birdies).
Vanderbilt is in the mix despite a lackluster performance from All-American Luke List. After bogeying the first, List strung together four birdies over the next nine holes. He would go six-over through final eight holes, however, including doubles on 11 and 18.
Fourth-ranked UCLA holds a five-stroke lead over the field. South Carolina, host Arizona State and New Mexico round out the top four. Stanford, Southern Cal and Pepperdine stand in a three-way tie for fifth.
UCLA’s Erik Flores is the 18-hole individual leader after shooting an eight-under 64. Flores leads New Mexico’s Charlie Beijan by one stroke.
The Commodores tee off from the 10th hole at 10:05 a.m. CT, paired once again with Pepperdine and Augusta State.
