SAPPHIRE, N.C. — Vanderbilt junior Hudson Johnson birdied the 36th hole to earn medalist honors Tuesday at the 2008 Hummingbird Intercollegiate hosted by Western Carolina University at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
A native of Longview, Texas, Johnson was four strokes back with four holes to play before a birdie on 15 and a hole-in-one on the par-3, 187-yard 16th hole put him in contention for the championship. He sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole to edge UCF’s David Johnson by only one stroke. The duo had been grouped together with Akron’s Scott Landreth after to start Tuesday’s round.
“I was playing pretty well on the front nine,” VU’s Johnson said. “But I missed a tap-in on the par-3 11th. After the hole-in-one, I was one stroke back with two to play. We both parred the 17th and I saw that he (David) would have a tough putt on 18. I just wanted to hit my approach so that I’d have a look to tie or win.”
Carding a three-under 68 on Monday, Johnson stood only one stroke back heading into the final round of the two-day event. His six-under 65 gave him a two-day total of nine-under 133 and his second collegiate victory. Tuesday’s round also tied him for the fourth-best 18-hole score by a Commodore. Johnson already holds a share of the VU record after his final-round 63 last season at the Kauai Collegiate Cup, which also propelled him to medalist honors.
“I was debating between my six or seven iron,” Johnson said of his first collegiate hole-in-one, the fourth of his life. “I was about to hit the seven, but the wind kept swirling, so I switched to the six to keep it down out of the wind. As soon as the ball went up, the sun hit it and I could tell it was a pretty shot. It was a beautiful course and the backdrop was perfect. When the ball came down, there was a loud ‘thwack’ that we could hear on the tee box, and when we looked we couldn’t see the ball anymore. I got up there and it had gone straight in the hole.”
Nearly lost in the drama was an impressive second-place finish by the Commodores. Vanderbilt shot a tournament-low 275 (nine-under) on Tuesday to fall one shot shy of the team champion UCF. The performance counts as the fifth-lowest round by a Commodore squad, matching a 2001 outing at the Gator Invitational.
Vanderbilt was the only school to have all five scoring golfers finish in the Top 20 of the 83-man field. Senior Tyler Matthews (tied for fourth) tallied the first Top 5 perfomance of his Vanderbilt career with a two-under 140 that included a 68 on Tuesday. Sophomore Ryan Haselden carded rounds of 70 and 72 to place in a tie for sixth at even-par.
Junior Chris Rockwell shot par on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for 12th at two-over (144). Sophomore Adam Hofmann (tied for 19th) also scored in the second round, shooting another even-par 71 to finish at three-over.
“We needed to have a strong showing to finish out the fall,” Johnson added. “Everyone came out and played well this week, and it was a lot of fun.”
Only one stroke behind UCF, Vanderbilt finished 20 strokes ahead of the third-place Akron. Elon and host Western Carolina rounded out the tournament’s Top 5. Vanderbilt also finished second last season in the event.
Head Coach Tom Shaw’s Commodores will have more than three months to prepare for the 2009 spring season, which kicks off in late February with the Rio Pinar Intercollegiate in Orlando, Fla.
The Country Club of Sapphire Valley is a private, member-owned club that features a par-71, 6,767-yard layout. The course meanders through the backdrop of a mature hardwood forest and scenic mountains that provide for breathtaking views. The course, which sits on a level valley floor despite its mountainous surroundings, was originally designed by George Cobb and recently updated by Bill Bergin.
