TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Vanderbilt junior All-American Jon Curran won his first collegiate tournament Monday, earning medalist honors at the 2008 Seminole Intercollegiate at the Golden Eagle Country Club.
Curran shot two consecutive rounds of four-under 68 on Monday to finish at 10-under 206 and win the two-day, 54-hole event by three strokes over Auburn’s Jay Moseley.
“Jon Curran played brilliantly all week,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Tom Shaw said. “It was the Jon Curran of old, and we’re happy to have him back. Winning his first tournament, he’s on cloud nine right now and we’re extremely happy for him.”
It marks the first collegiate victory for the Hopkinton, Mass., native, who placed second in the 2007 NCAA West Regional, the 2007 John Hayt Collegiate Invitational and the 2005 Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. The Commodores last boasted an individual medalist at an NCAA team event when All-American Luke List won the 2005 Mason Rudolph at seven-under, three strokes ahead of Curran in Vanderbilt’s home tournament.
The Seminole’s 63-player field included 10 nationally ranked players. North Carolina’s Kevin O’Connell, ranked 14th, placed in a tie for third with UAB’s Zach Sucher at six-under.
As a team, Vanderbilt moved up seven spots from Sunday to finish in a tie for fifth with 26th-ranked UAB and 31st-ranked Louisville at nine-over. The Commodores shot seven-under for the final 18 holes, with sophomore Chris Rockwell (-2), senior Billy Whalen (-1) and sophomore Hudson Johnson (E) complementing Curran.
“The guys played a fantastic round today in some difficult, windy conditions,” Shaw added. “It was great to see everyone step up today and help us pass up some SEC teams.”
Six ranked squads were featured in the 12-team field, including a pair of Top 15 teams in Auburn and host Florida State. The Seminoles were the only two teams under par for the event, with FSU beating Auburn by four strokes. Virginia was third and North Carolina fourth at two- and three-over, respectively.
The 18 holes at the Golden Eagle Country Club were designed by world renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio. The course sprawls 7,041 yards from the back tees and was rated “the most challenging course in Florida” by the United States Golf Association just six months after opening in December 1986.
Complete results of the entire 2008 Seminole Intercollegiate are available via Golfstat – click here.
The Commodores will next travel to Hawai’i to take part in the Kauai Collegiate Cup, March 14-15, at the Wailua Golf Course.
