BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team is tied for first place heading into the third and final round of the Samford Invitational at Limestone Springs Golf Course.
Vanderbilt is tied for first in the 14-team field with Kennessaw State after playing 36 holes on Monday. The Commodores picked up three strokes on the Owls in the second round to even things up heading into Tuesday’s final 18 holes.
“We had our top three guys play well today,” VU Head Coach Tom Shaw said. “The 36-hole format is a first for us this year, so I think we are going to sleep well tonight. We hung tough on a day where we weren’t very sharp, but I expect us to come out strong tomorrow morning and post a low score.”
Three Commodores stand in the tournament’s Top 10. Junior Ryan Haselden and sophomore Trey DelGreco are both tied for third place in the field of 75-player field. Both shot a pair of under-par rounds to stick within four strokes of KSU’s Jeff Karlsson (-7). Senior Hudson Johnson is tied for seventh is one-under for the tournament, six shots back of the lead.
Sophomore Charlie Grace scored in VU’s first round, carding a four-over 76. He stands in a tie for 45th place. Senior Chris Rockwell bounced back in the second round to shoot a two-over 74 and move up to 49th position.
Behind Kennesaw State and Vanderbilt, Murray State, Evansville and UT Martin round out the top five. The Commodores and Owls are 11 strokes clear of their nearest competitors.
Tuesday’s final round is scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. CT with a shotgun start. A highly-acclaimed golf course in the Birmingham area, Limestone Springs is playing at 6,987-yard and par-72 this week.
