NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s golf will make its long-awaited spring season debut next week when it takes part in the FAU Paradise Invitational starting Monday.
“We’re all ready to get the spring season underway and get back out there competing,” said head coach Greg Allen. “We’ve had a nice off-season and have put in some good work.”
Played at the Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, Florida, the par 72 Raven & Falcon course registers 6,204 yards. The FAU Paradise Invitational is scheduled to be a two-day event starting at 7 a.m. CT Monday and Tuesday.
Vanderbilt will be joined at the event by 14 other teams including host Florida Atlantic, No. 5 Florida, Arkansas State, Colorado State, Florida Gulf Coast, FIU, James Madison, Loyola-Chicago, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Florida, Seton Hall, South Florida and UTSA.
“I’m hoping to see some toughness from our girls this week,” said Allen. “We’ve talked a lot about that lately and I’m anxious to see how we battle when things aren’t going our way.”
The Commodores played four tournaments in the fall highlighted by the Vandy-hosted Mason Rudolph Championship (October 15-17) where the team tied for sixth. Senior standout Auston Kim tied for third overall and matched the best first round in event history. Kim also led the Dores in the fall with a 70.11 stroke average while sophomore Virginie Ding followed with a 72.42.
In 2021, Vanderbilt had a successful outing in Boca Raton where all five individuals finished in the top 25 and the team tied for third overall. Junior Celina Sattelkau led the way for the Dores with a top-three finish at 213 (-3) while Kim finished eighth with 215 (-1).
The Lineup
Auston Kim, Virginie Ding, Jayna Choi, Natasha Kiel and Louise Yu will set the pace for the spring season this weekend. Kim, an ANNIKA Award candidate, earned the top spot in the lineup after posting the team’s top scoring average of the fall season with 70.11. Ding looks to build on a consistent Fall campaign as the No. 2 for the Commodores.
Choi makes the lineup as the No. 3 while newcomer Kiel is slotted at the No. 4 spot and looks to build upon her fall experience from the Vanderbilt-hosted Mason Rudolph Championship. A sign of the depth in the Dore lineup, Yu, a 2021 NCAA Championship individual qualifier, rounds out the lineup.
Kim in the Rankings
Kim ended the fall season as the highest-ranked Dore coming in No. 8 nationally by Golfstat with a 70.53 adjusted scoring average. Golfweek puts her at No. 15 with a 69.44 rating.
Up Next
At the end of the month the Commodores will take center stage at the highly-anticipated Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) held at the Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Hosted by multi-platinum country artist and PXG ambassador Darius Rucker, the event marks the first all-women’s regular season collegiate golf tournament to be presented live on the GOLF Channel.