March 16, 2017
The number-one ranked Commodore men’s golf team heads to Statesboro, Ga., this weekend to the Schenkel Invitational, where they will look to defend their 2016 championship at the par-72, 6,962 Forest Heights Country Club. Play will begin on Friday at 8 a.m. CT with fixed tee times, with 18 holes also being played on Saturday and Sunday.
The Commodores won last year’s event with a -41-under par, 823 (274-269-280), the second-lowest 54-hole team total in program history. Will Gordon tied for medalist honors in 2016 with a -13-under, 203 (67-73-63), with Theo Humphrey (6th), Patrick Martin (T-7th), and Matthias Schwab (T-7th) also finishing in the top 10.
Vanderbilt will be without the services of Matthias Schwab, who is participating in the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational after earning the Arnold Palmer exemption for sportsmanship at the 2016 Palmer Cup in Formby, England.
Competing for the Commodores this week are juniors Michael Decker and Theo Humphrey, sophomores Will Gordon and Patrick Martin, and freshman John Augenstein.
“I want us to be excited and enthusiastic about this opportunity this week,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “It’s the next step on our climb and it’s important because it’s one of our last few opportunities to become the team we know we can be. We will miss Matthias, but this also gives our other guys a great chance to lead. Our message has been pretty simple. We have to play Vanderbilt golf and continue to put it ALL out there because that’s the only way we can see how good this team can really be.”
Vanderbilt will compete with UAB, the College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Florida, Georgia Southern, Iowa, Jacksonville, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lipscomb, N.C. State, North Florida, and Notre Dame.
Live results can be found on Golfstat.com throughout the weekend.