May 26, 2016
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The eighth-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team begins its quest for the 2016 NCAA Championship this Friday at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, in a stroke and match play format. The Commodores, the second-highest ranked team from the SEC entering the tournament, wll be making their third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship, a program first.
In 2015, Vanderbilt finished second in the stroke-play portion of the tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals of match play for the first time in program history before falling to eventual national champion LSU in the Elite Eight.
The Commodores, who will be paired with #7 Arizona State and #9 Auburn, will tee off at 1:15 Pacific time off of the number 10 tee at the Eugene Country Club. 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, May 30, and the top eight teams will advance to match play, which begins on Tuesday, May 31. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Tuesday, with the finals taking place Wednesday, June 1.
“Well, this is definitely the most exciting time of the year in college golf,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “I love this championship because it tests every part of your game and the team. This week will reward the teams and the players that are the most patient, disciplined, and together. It’s a marathon week and we have to embrace each step and have the right type of focus. It’s important to control everything in your play box and trust the guys in front of you and behind you to do their jobs. The guys are looking forward to competing, playing Vanderbilt golf, and having fun.”
Vanderbilt will travel their same lineup that they played at the NCAA Franklin Regional – senior Carson Jacobs, junior Matthias Schwab, sophomore Theo Humphrey, and freshmen Will Gordon and Patrick Martin.
The Commodores have put together a stellar 2015-16 campaign heading into the national championship, with the team winning four team championships (DICK’s Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge, Schenkel Invitational, FarmLinks Collegiate Match Play, and the Mason Rudolph Championship) and garnering eight top five finishes.
Vanderbilt stormed to second place at the NCAA Franklin Regional behind a stellar final round performance. Vanderbilt counted a pair of 66’s from Schwab and Gordon, a 67 from Martin, and a 69 from sophomore Humphrey to card a 20-under par, 268, to secure their place in Eugene. The 268 tied for the second lowest team round in the history of the program.
Three Commodores are averaging 71 strokes per round or lower, with Schwab leading the way with a 70.63 stroke average. Gordon (70.73) and Martin (71.00) are each averaging under 71 strokes per round. Combined, the three have won two individual championships, carded seven top five finishes, and posted 16 top 10’s. Four of the top 12 single-season stroke averages in program history have happened this season – Schwab (3rd), Gordon (6th), Martin (7th), and Humphrey (72.0 stroke average, 12th).
All five players participating in this year’s championship have been honored on an All-SEC team. Schwab has been honored three times and has been chosen to the first team for the last two seasons, Jacobs and Humphrey were second-team All-SEC members last season, and Gordon and Martin were honored on this year’s All-Freshman and All-SEC second team. All five are also in the top 10 in Vanderbilt’s career scoring average list (minimum of 30 rounds):
| No. | Avg. | Player | Years | Rds | Strokes |
| 1. | 70.73 | Will Gordon | 2015-16 | 30 | 2,122 |
| 2. | 70.97 | Matthias Schwab | 2013-16 | 75 | 5,323 |
| 3. | 71.00 | Patrick Martin | 2015-16 | 30 | 2,130 |
| 4. | 71.56 | Jon Curran | 2005-09 | 133 | 9,517 |
| 5. | 71.77 | Brandt Snedeker | 2000-03 | 118 | 8,469 |
| 6. | 71.84 | Theo Humphrey | 2014-16 | 61 | 4,382 |
| 7. | 72.01 | Hunter Stewart | 2011-15 | 139 | 10,010 |
| 8. | 72.10 | Luke List | 2003-07 | 143 | 10,311 |
| 9. | 73.35 | Hudson Johnson | 2006-10 | 106 | 7,775 |
| 10. | 73.65 | Carson Jacobs | 2012-16 | 95 | 6,997 |
The Commodores have also become known as a closing team throughout the season, winning two of their stroke play tournaments after trailing the first two rounds, and in the third, fighting off a Florida team who had taken the lead on the back nine of the Mason Rudolph Championship. For the season, Vanderbilt’s counting scorers are averaging 70.61 strokes per round in the final round, and in the spring season, the Commodores’ counters have averaged an astonishing 69.25 strokes in their final 18 holes.
Live scoring for the tournament can be found throughout the tournament on NCAA.com.