STATESBORO, Ga. – Vanderbilt’s men’s golf team maintained their nine-shot lead on the field on Saturday at the Schenkel Invitational with a team total of 553 (274-279) after the second round of competition at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga. The Commodores are also 1-2 on the individual leader board, with senior Theo Humphrey leading all individuals with a 135 (66-69) and junior Will Gordon in a tie for second with a score of eight-under par, 136 (67-69).
As a team on Saturday, the fifth-ranked Commodores shot a nine-under par, 279, and counted 20 birdies on the day. Vanderbilt counted a three-under 69 from Humphrey, a three-under 69 from Gordon, a two-under 70 from redshirt freshman Mason Greenberg and a one-under par 71 from sophomore John Augenstein.
Along with Humphrey and Gordon, Augenstein is also in the top 10 in a tie for eighth. Greenberg, playing in his second tournament as a Commodore team member, had the low round of his career on Saturday and is in a tie for 20th individually.
“I thought we did a great job getting off to a good start again which was big,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We had a lot of energy and enthusiasm and really played well early on. However, we have to do a better job responding when things don’t go the way we want them to go. That’s really what golf is all about, responding when adversity shows up because it’s always going to show up in this game. Every time we are out there competing, it’s about taking the right steps and growing individually and as a team. Mason did a great job lifting the team up on the back nine today when things weren’t going as well for the other guys. Theo and Will were both solid most of the day and are really playing well which has been big for us and has really helped to lift the team up.”
Vanderbilt leads second-place Kentucky by nine shots and third-place Mississippi State and Georgia Southern by 12 shots heading into the final round Sunday.
“Tomorrow is another good opportunity for us to take a step towards being the team we know we want to be,” said Limbaugh. “The challenge is to have the right focus on the right things and that’s a personal decision everyone makes every single day. We need to do a better job with that tomorrow, have fun and embrace where we are in our climb. What I appreciate the most about these guys is their desire to compete and we did a good job of that again today and will need to do it again tomorrow.”
The final round of the Schenkel Invitational concludes on Sunday, with the Commodores beginning their round at 9 a.m. CT.
1. Vanderbilt – 274-279=553
1. Theo Humphrey – 66-69=135
T2. Will Gordon – 67-69=136
T9. John Augenstein – 69-71=140
T20. Mason Greenberg – 72-70=142
T63. Patrick Martin – 72-76=148
83. Harrison Ott – 78-82=160*
*Playing as individual
