TOLEDO, Ohio – The No. 6 Vanderbilt men’s golf team climbed up three spots on the leaderboard to eighth place on moving day at the 18th Inverness Intercollegiate, as the Commodores carded 2-over 286 on Monday.
With improved scoring conditions at the Inverness Club, Vandy posted the fifth-best score out of the 18-team field in Round 2. The performance allowed Vanderbilt to move up to eighth on the team leaderboard with a two-day score of 16-over 584. The Commodores open Round 3 one stroke shy of sixth place and six strokes away from fourth.
Three Dores finished the second day of play at par or better. Senior Carlos Astiazaran and sophomore Michael Riebe each carded 1-under 70 to pace the Dores on Monday. Sophomore Will Hartman concluded his second round at The Inverness Club at even par.
Both Astiazaran and Hartman head into Round 3 tied for seventh on the individual leaderboard. The pair of Commodores enter Tuesday with a 36-hole score of 1-over 143.
“It was a lot of fun out there today and good seeing the guys grab some momentum,” said Scott Limbaugh, the Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “It was another great test today, but not as much wind as yesterday. I’m really proud of Michael for bouncing back today and giving our team a huge round. He did a good job holing some big putts and sticking with his plan. Will was solid all day long, hitting sixteen greens and continuing to play with a ton of consistency. Carlos did a great job finding his groove after a double-bogey, and I’m super excited to see him respond the way he did. I thought Tyler and Jon Ed did a lot of good things today but have to get strong with their decision-making and commitment to each shot.”
Astiazaran had three birdies on Tuesday and went 3-under over his final 13 holes. The Tucson, Arizona, native opened at 2-over but recovered to finish the round bogey-free after Hole 5. It is the senior’s second under-par round of the season.
Riebe collected two birdies during his second go-around at The Inverness Club to post his 10th career under-par round. The sophomore moved up a team-high 34 spots on the individual leaderboard on Monday and opens Round 3 in a tie for 39th.
Hartman carded par or lower for the 19th time over his last 23 rounds. The Marvin, North Carolina, native closed out Round 2 by going a team-best 2-under on the back nine. All four of Hartman’s birdies on Tuesday came over his final nine holes of play.
Iowa maintains a one-stroke advantage over the 18-team field heading into the final round with a score of 4-over 572. No. 2-ranked Auburn opens Round 3 a stroke off the Hawkeyes, while No. 5 Texas Tech is two strokes behind. TTU’s Ben Gregg holds a one-stroke lead over Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan, as Gregg holds a two-round total of 3-under 139.
No. 6 Vanderbilt tees off Round 3 of the Inverness Intercollegiate at 9:40 a.m. CT on Tuesday. The Commodores will be paired with No. 7 Tennessee and Ohio State.
ESPN+ will stream live coverage of the Inverness Intercollegiate on Monday starting at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can also follow along with live scoring via Clippd.
“We are growing right now as a team, and tomorrow is a great opportunity for us to take a step forward,” Limbaugh expressed. “There were some guys that stepped up today, and we will need more of the same tomorrow. I’m encouraged and excited to see us finish this tournament strong, and we can do that by locking in on doing the simple things better.’
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