March 22, 2018
Clemson Invitational Live scoring
The Vanderbilt women’s golf team will face another strong field this weekend at the third annual Clemson Invitational.
The Commodores, coming off an 11th-place finish at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C., will open first-round play Friday against 14 other teams at The Reserve at Lake Keowee. The par-72 venue designed by Jack Nicklaus measures 6,260 yards.
Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen is looking for a strong performance to propel his team toward the upcoming Southeastern Conference Championship.
“I’m excited and optimistic every time we play, but we have to stay focused on the present and what’s currently before us,” Allen said. “The opportunity this week is a great field at Clemson.”
Vanderbilt is one of 11 teams ranked among the top-50 nationally participating in the Clemson Invitational. The Commodores enter the tournament ranked 26th by Golfweek and 28th by Golfstat. Clemson, Florida State, Furman, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Wisconsin are other top-50 teams in the field.
Junior Courtney Zeng, sophomore Abbey Carlson and freshmen Morgan Baxendale, Louise Yu and Virginia Green will compete for the Commodores.
Allen wants to see more consistency from his steadily improving young squad. “We continue to get better every day, and it’s extremely important for us to start seeing more consistency in our play,” the coach said. “We’re still looking to put three consecutive rounds together. Now is the time.”
Carlson, a product of Circle Christian School near Orlando, has been the Commodores’ most consistent player, finishing among the top three Commodores at every tournament this year. Carlson earned a fourth-place individual finish at the Mason Rudolph Championships and owns a 73.33 stroke average.
Baxendale and Zeng, both from First Academy in Windermere, Fla., are coming off solid performances at the Rucker tournament in Hilton Head. They have ranked among the team’s top five all season.
Yu, from Peachtree Ridge (Ga.) High School, and Green, from Fairhope (Ala.) High School, are exhibiting superb abilities in their first year on campus. Yu notched a top-20 individual finish at the Mason Rudolph while Green earned a third-place individual result at the UCF Challenge.