CARLSBAD, Calif. – No. 11-ranked Vanderbilt punched its ticket into match play at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, as the Commodores ended stroke play in third place with a four-round score of 12-under 1,140.
Vandy, who was the No. 10 seed at the 2026 NCAA Championship, placed inside the top eight in stroke play to advance to match play for the first time since the 2023-24 season.
Vanderbilt will be the No. 3 seed in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinal matches, where they face No. 6-seeded Arizona. The Commodores and Wildcats tee off at 8:50 a.m. CT from Hole 1.
“Today was awesome, and we never take days like this for granted,” said Scott Limbaugh, Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “I’ve been doing this a while, and to see a young group like this step up is remarkable. We didn’t have a ton of momentum early, and we need to give a lot of credit to Wells for keeping our ship afloat when things weren’t as smooth as we hoped. We finally found a little momentum after Ryan made a couple of putts. You think about Will being 3-over par on his front nine, then making four birdies on the back nine to shoot even par. Jon Ed made an unbelievable birdie on Hole 15, then gave us another big one on 18. The young guys are growing up, and it’s been really cool to see. I’m so proud of them.”
The Commodores were in a three-way tie for third with No. 2 Florida and No. 5 Oklahoma State heading into their final hole of Round 4.
Needing a birdie on his final hole to break the tie, freshman Will Hartman hit a 3-wood from roughly 265 yards out that rolled through the back edge of the green. From there, Hartman got the ball three feet within the hole, then sank the birdie putt on his final shot of the day and secure the No. 3 seed for Vanderbilt in match play.
“That was huge,” expressed Limbaugh. “We wanted our guys to finish strong, and they did. I do think that finishing strong is important. Will used a 3-wood to get onto the green, and it was an absolutely perfect roll to the back edge. That was huge for him and for us.”
It will be the eighth time Vanderbilt has advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship. The Dores have finished in the top eight in stroke play and moved on to match play in eight of the last 11 NCAA Championship events.
Golf Channel will provide live coverage of match play at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Fans can watch the quarterfinals live stream on BabyGrande Golf or the Golf Channel Live Stream starting at noon CT. Fans can click the link here to follow along with live scoring.
“This time of year, whoever you play, you have to show up,” Limbaugh stated. “It’s about playing good golf and staying committed. Nothing has to change about us. We’re excited about tomorrow. Arizona is a great team. We played with them the first two days here. They are a very talented team that also won their regional. It’s going to be a whale of a match, and we need to be ready to go.”
The Commodores concluded stroke play in third place, as Vanderbilt carded 12-under 1,140 over four rounds of play on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. It is Vandy’s highest finish in stroke play at an NCAA Championship since finishing second during the 2023-24 season.
It was senior Wells Williams leading the charge for the Dores in Round 4. The West Point, Mississippi, native closed out his final round of stroke play as a Commodore by carding a team-best 2-under 70. Williams collected five birdies to push his overall score to 3-under 285 to finish in a tie for 23rd.
Freshman Will Hartman made the most of his first NCAA Championship event. The Marvin, North Carolina, native carded a team-best 10-under 278 over his four rounds of play to finish tied for fourth on the player leaderboard. Hartman entered Monday one stroke off the lead after he scored 4-under in Rounds 2 and 3, as he earned All-American honors by posting a top-15 finish.
Fellow freshman Jon Ed Steed also finished under par in his inaugural NCAA Championship. The first-year Commodore carded 2-under 286 to tie for 26th. Steed set the Vanderbilt record for lowest round score by a freshman at an NCAA Championship in Round 2, as he carded 5-under 67 on Saturday. Sophomore Ryan Downes rounded out the scoring for Vanderbilt, as he tied for 49th after carding 4-over 292.
No. 1-ranked Auburn won stroke play at the 2026 NCAA Championship, as the Tigers carded 26-under 1,126. Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout won individual medalist honors after going 14-under 274 over four rounds of play.
The winner between Vanderbilt and Arizona will play the winner of No. 2 seed Texas and No. 7 seed UCLA in the semifinal match on Tuesday afternoon. Tee times and pairings for the semifinals will be determined shortly after the quarterfinal matches.
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Match Play Lineup vs. Arizona (All times in CT)
8:50 a.m. – Chase Nevins vs. Taishi Moto
9:00 a.m. – Jon Ed Steed vs. Tianyi Xiong
9:10 a.m. – Will Hartman vs. Filip Jakubcik
9:20 a.m. – Ryan Downes vs. William Wistrand
9:30 a.m. – Wells Williams vs. Zach Pollo