Haselden's Eagle Golden As VU Wins

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ryan Haselden’s eagle on the final hole Sunday propelled the Vanderbilt men’s golf team to a tournament championship and earned the sophomore medalist honors at the 2009 Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State University at the Golden Eagle Country Club.

The victory was a true team effort for Vanderbilt, which claims its first tournament title since winning the Kauai Collegiate Cup in March of last year. During Sunday’s final round, the Head Coach Tom Shaw’s Commodores counted scores from one senior, one junior, one sophomore and a freshman.

But it was Haselden who stole the show in the end. The Houston native shared the individual lead after 36 holes of play, but was one stroke back of Mississippi State’s Carlos Sainz — the leader in the clubhouse at two-under — heading to the 540-yard par five 18th hole.

“I got off to a slow start today, but it shifted into gear on the back when I birdied 14,” Haselden said of his round. “I didn’t really know the extra implications of 18. I had seen the leaderboard, and knew it was tight between us and Virginia.

“I had my driver, and hit a good tee shot out into the fairway,” Haselden continued. “From there I just tried to hit a 5-iron in. I hit it well and it landed on the front of the green and trickled down about eight feet from the hole.”

Haselden stepped up and drained the putt for an eagle three before being swarmed by boisterous teammates.

“When I made the putt, everyone came over yelling that I had just won the tournament,” Haselden said. “It was probably the greatest feeling I have ever had in golf.”

Haselden was quick to point out that his moment of glory was only one piece of Vanderbilt’s winning puzzle.

“Jon [Curran] and Hudson [Johnson] both went low today,” Haselden noted. “It was a great week and I’m just happy that I was able to help the team.”

Curran paced the Commodores in Sunday’s third and final round. The tournament’s defending champion after winning as a junior last year, Curran turned in a bogey-free round of 68 (-4) to finish in a tie for third place at one-under.

Johnson also went under-par on Sunday, carding a 70 (-2) that included six birdies and four bogeys. The junior finished in a tie for 13th with a total of 218 (+2).

Freshman Trey DelGreco shot a three-over 75 in the final round. DelGreco would also make eagle on the 54th hole of the tournament, which proved crucial in the Commodores’ victory.

Senior Tyler Matthews posted a six-over 78 on Sunday. He would still finish in the tournament’s Top 25 on the strength of a four-under 68 that was the best score of the second round.

“This was a great win for our guys and will be a much-needed boost of confidence as we head down the stretch of our schedule,” Shaw said. “We started off a little slowly today, and I was worried we’d let other teams get away from us. But our guys hung in, and on the back nine I could see we were making a late rally. We hit good shots and made greens when we needed to. Hopefully we’ll let this propel us for the rest of the season.”

Vanderbilt returns to the road next week to take part in the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. That event is scheduled to run March 13-14.