May 28, 2015
The fifth-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team begins its quest for the 2015 NCAA Championship this Friday at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., in a stroke and match play format. The Commodores, the highest ranked team from the SEC entering the tournament, will be making their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship.
The Commodores, who will be paired with #4 Illinois and #6 South Carolina, will tee off at 12:40 ET off of the number one tee at Concession. All thirty teams will play 54 holes of stroke play Friday through Sunday, with the top 15 teams and nine individuals not affiliated with those teams advancing to the final 18 holes of stroke play Monday. An individual champion will be crowned Monday, June 1, and the top eight teams will advance to match play, which begins on Tuesday, June 2. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Tuesday, with the finals taking place Wednesday, June 3.
The Concession Golf Club recently hosted the Women’s NCAA Championship, which concluded Wednesday with a dramatic match play victory by Stanford.
“I think when you are playing for a National Championship, it is always so exciting and special,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We have heard nothing but great things about Concession Golf Club and I think it will be a very good fit for our team. When you advance to this part of the season, it is a player’s time of year. I know the guys are ready and we have had a great week of preparation.”
The Commodores have had a stellar season this year, winning one tournament and finishing second on eight different occasions. Additionally, four of the top eight single-season stroke averages in the program’s history have been registered this season, with senior Hunter Stewart leading the way with a 69.36 stroke average, the best-ever stroke average by a Vanderbilt player. Matthias Schwab has a 70.14 stroke average this season (3rd), Theo Humphrey a 71.30 average (6th), and Carson Jacobs a 71.58 (8th) stroke average. The four other top individual seasons came from two players currently playing on the PGA Tour (Jon Curran, 2006-07, 2007-08; Brandt Snedeker, 2001-02, 2002-03). In all, Vanderbilt has registered 48 combined rounds in the 60’s and 22 rounds of 68 or better.
The Commodores will send Stewart, Schwab, Humphrey, Jacobs, and junior Zack Jaworski to the tournament this weekend.
Stewart’s 2014-15 campaign has been historical, posting the school’s lowest-ever stroke average, registering 16 rounds in the 60’s and winning three individual tournaments (Carmel Cup, Tavistock Collegiate, Mason Rudolph Championship). He posted a 19-round streak in the spring of par rounds or better, and his stroke average is currently the fifth lowest in collegiate golf in the last 15 years. Stewart was named to the U.S. Palmer Cup team in 2015, and was also named as a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award. His worst finish of the season was a T-11 at the Nike Golf Collegiate.
Schwab, who missed the fall season recovering from a back injury, has emerged this spring better than ever with four top fives and an individual title at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Schwab, who was named to the Palmer Cup European team, has seven rounds in the 60’s this spring. Jacobs carded a first-round 64 in the Dick’s Collegiate Challenge Cup, the lowest by a Commodore this year. Jacobs has two top five finishes, including a runner-up finish at the Tavistock Collegiate, and one other top 10. Humphrey has played in all 33 rounds as a true freshman, has one top five and three other top 10 finishes, and has the lowest stroke average for a Commodore freshman in the history of the program. Jaworski has played his best golf at the end of the season, carding a top 10 at the SEC Championship with two rounds in the 60’s and a top 20 at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
“The farther you advance in the postseason the more you have to be able to focus on the right things and have your concentration right at the most important times,” said Limbaugh. “All of the little things that we talk about all year long are the things that matter the most this time of year. We need to trust the work we have put in and go have some fun.”
The Commodores just finished their 10th regional as a program at the New Haven Regional, where they finished fourth, and will participate in their fifth NCAA Championship this weekend. Vanderbilt has advanced to the NCAA Championship on four other occasions – in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2014, with their best finish coming at the 2014 event, when they finished in a tie for 16th. 2015 marks the second time in the program’s history that Vanderbilt has advanced to two consecutive NCAA Championships.