Feb. 16, 2008
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team opens the 2008 spring schedule this weekend with the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of North Florida at the Sawgrass Country Club.
Head Coach Tom Shaw has chosen sophomore Chris Rockwell, junior Jon Curran, sophomore Hudson Johnson, senior Billy Whalen and freshman Ben Klaus to represent the Commodores in their first of five spring events that lead up to postseason play.
Throughout the last 17 years, the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational has grown into one of the premier events in college golf, and this year is no exception. Dubbed the first collegiate major of the year, the 2008 field features eight teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation. To add to the prestige and class of the tournament, the event has received a new name in 2007, as longtime UNF golf enthusiast and Jacksonville businessman John Hayt’s name now adorns the event.
The Commodores have not competed in a team event since November’s Western Carolina Intercollegiate, where Vanderbilt finished second. During the past couple of months, the Commodores have continued to train for the spring season in hopes of returning to the NCAA Championships again this May.
In January, four Commodores took part in the 82nd-annual New Year’s Invitational, hosted at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Country Club. Hudson Johnson finished in a tie for third place in that event after leading the first three rounds. Jon Curran gave Vanderbilt another Top 10 finisher with his seventh place result.
The 15-team field is scheduled to begin play at 7:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 17. Vanderbilt has been grouped with Pepperdine and Georgia State for the first of three days of competition. The first golfers from that grouping will tee off at 8:48 a.m. ET from the 10th tee.