ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team stands in a tie for third place after day one of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship at the Frederica Golf Club.
The Commodores posted four scores of 74-or-below, paced by senior Jon Curran’s even-par round. Curran sits in a tie for 14th in the field of 60 SEC golfers.
Junior Hudson Johnson and sophomore Ryan Haselden both shot one-over 73 for the opening 18 holes. Johnson carded a team-high 15 pars on the day, while Haselden was two-under for his last 10 holes. The Commodore duo are tied for 16th place.
Highlights from Friday’s first round included Matthews eagling the par-5, 535-yard 18th hole after sticking his approach inside five feet with a three-iron. He would finish round one with a two-over 74, good for 21st place.
Sophomore Adam Hofmann shot a five-over 77 for the day, placing him a tie for 40th.
The Commodores are scheduled to tee off at 8:50 a.m. ET on Saturday for the second of three rounds. Vanderbilt will leave from the first tee with day-one leader Georgia and Arkansas.
The top-ranked Bulldogs shot a six-under 282 to lead Arkansas by eight strokes. The Commodores find themselves 10 shots off the pace, tied with Florida at four-over 292. South Carolina and Mississippi State are tied for fifth at five-over.
Individually, Kentucky’s Jordan Blann holds a one-stroke lead after posting a five-under 67 on Friday that included six birdies.
The Tom Fazio-designed course features a unique layout with dramatic elevation changes, and will play 7,217 yards at par-72 this weekend. This is the second year that the tournament has been played at the Frederica Golf Club. The SEC Golf Tournament has been played at Sea Island since 2001, with six different league teams capturing championships in that period.
