March 15, 2017
Vanderbilt senior Matthias Schwab will tee it up in his first PGA Tour event this Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., at the Bay Hill Country Club. Schwab earned an exemption into this week’s event after being voted on by his peers at the 2016 Palmer Cup for the Arnold Palmer exemption, which is given to the player that best represents “the `Arnold Palmer Legacy'”.
Schwab, a two-time Vanderbilt All-American and the fourth-ranked amateur in the world in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, will tee off at 8:23 CT from the number one tee, and will be playing with Robert Gamez and David Hronek.
“I don’t expect any different pressure at Bay Hill than what I have experienced in the European Tour starts,” Schwab told CollegiateGolf.com. “I think that I will be just as nervous on the first tee as at any other event and then just go from there and stick to my plan. In the end, I have nothing to lose and I am trying to gain as much experience as possible out of this tournament.”
Schwab has played in multiple European Tour events in his career, but this will be his PGA Tour event.
“We are thrilled for Matthias to have this opportunity to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “It will be even more special this year since it’s the first since Mr. Palmer’s death. I know Matthias is excited to play against the best players in the world. He is one of the finest young men I have been able to coach in how he respects the game and how he handles himself on the course. It says a lot about him that the other young men playing in the Palmer Cup voted Matthias as the one that best represented Mr. Palmer’s legacy. Matthias has played in several European Tour events, however, this will be his first PGA Tour start. It is going to be a lot of fun to watch him compete against the best this week; I think he will do well. He also played a practice round with Brandt and Luke on Tuesday. We will certainly miss him at the Schenkel, but we will be cheering hard for him.”