April 15, 2016
Vanderbilt junior Matthias Schwab and freshman Will Gordon were selected Friday to the Palmer Cup, a Ryder-Cup type competition that pits 10 of the best U.S. collegiate golfers against 10 of the top European collegiate players. Schwab, from Rohrmoos, Austria, will play for the Europeans for the second straight year, while Gordon will be the only freshman on the United States team.
The event, which will take place at Formby Golf Club in England June 24-26, is named after golf legend Arnold Palmer, a staunch advocate and supporter of college golf.
Schwab has played in 24 stroke-play rounds and posted a stroke average of 70.54, a team-best. He has five top 10 finishes, and shared medalist honors at the Carmel Cup at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. He also finished third at the Mason Rudolph Championship, tied for seventh at the Schenkel Invitational, tied for eighth at the Querencio Cabo Collegiate, and eighth at the DICK’s Sporting Goods Challenge. Schwab has also carded 10 rounds in the 60’s this season, including a season-low 67 in the first round of the Mason Rudolph Championship.
Gordon has played in 24 stroke-play rounds and averaged 70.63 strokes per round for the season, and tied for first at the Schenkel Invitational (67-73-63), which included a final round 63. He also posted a final-round 63 at the SunTrust Gator Invitational and has had six top 10 finishes this season – the Carmel Cup (T-10th), the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational (T-4th), the SunTrust Gator Invitational (6th), the Schenkel Invitational (T-1st), and the Mason Rudolph Championship (T-4th)…Gordon has also excelled in match play this season with a 3-0 record. Gordon has posted nine rounds in the 60’s and his 63 ties a league-low this season with Florida’s Sam Horsfield, but he is only player in the SEC with two rounds of 63.
Schwab and Gordon’s selections to the Palmer Cup are the sixth and seventh for Vanderbilt as a program and the Commodores now have four in the last two years. Schwab joins Luke List as the only Vanderbilt player to be named to the Palmer Cup twice, with List making the United States team in 2006 and 2007. Current PGA star Brandt Snedeker was selected to the U.S. team in 2003. Schwab is the Commodores’ only player to be selected to the European squad.