March 1, 2012
The #6-ranked Vanderbilt women’s golf team travels to Hilton Head, S.C., to participate in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club. The tournament is a 54-hole event, with 18 holes being played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Singer/songwriter Darius Rucker, Long Cove and South Carolina have agreed to host the 54-hole event through 2016. Rucker, who is a South Carolina graduate and avid Gamecock supporter, is currently an award-winning country artist. He is also well known for his time as the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish.
The Commodores will join host South Carolina and Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, UCF, TCU, Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina, USC Beaufort and Notre Dame in the field this weekend. Twelve of the top 15 teams in the Golfweek top 50 will participate in the event.
The tournament will be played on the challenging par-71, 6,160-yard course at Long Cove. Pete Dye, who is one of the most well-known course architects in the world, designed Long Cove, which has been on Golf Digest’s Top 100 list for 30 years.
Vanderbilt will send senior Marina Alex, junior Lauren Stratton, sophomore Rene Sobolewski, and freshmen Irina Gabasa and Kendall Martindale to play this weekend. In the latest Golfweek individual rankings, Stratton is ranked fourth in the nation and Alex 10th.
“We’re really excited about this tournament for a few reasons,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “We’ll face a great field against many of the top teams in the SEC on one of the great golf courses in the country. Long Cove is a classic. And, Darius Rucker is performing a private concert for the tournament and giving each team an opportunity to get a picture with him. I hope he doesn’t get upset with me when I call him Hootie.”