FORT WORTH, Texas – Sophomore Jon Ed Steed is in a four-way tie for first place after two rounds at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational presented by Charles Schwab, while the No. 10-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team sits in fourth place just four strokes off the lead.
Playing at Colonial Country Club in one of the premier events on the collegiate golf circuit, the Commodores posted a 36-hole score of 2-under 558 to close the first day of the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational in fourth place. The Dores carded 1-under 279 in both rounds on Monday, as Vanderbilt was the only school in the 16-team field to finish under par in each of the first two rounds.
“I thought the guys did a great job out there today, and we had all five guys stepping up throughout the day,” said Scott Limbaugh, the Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “We finished both rounds strong, which was great to see and something we take a lot of pride in. Jon Ed did a great job carrying us all day, and I thought he fought hard to keep momentum late in the day with some huge par putts. It was exciting seeing Luke play his first rounds in the lineup today, and he gave our team a huge lift in Round 1, and I thought he battled well in Round 2 when it got tough. Will played with a ton of consistency today and got some putts to fall in the second round, which was big for him. Tyler did a great job today managing his game and hanging in there. It was a total team day.”
Steed was consistent throughout the tournament’s first day, carding 2-under 68 in both Rounds 1 and 2. With a score of 4-under 136, the sophomore heads into Tuesday’s finale tied for first place with Adam Bresnu of Texas Tech, Billy Davis of Auburn and Niall Sheils Donegan of North Carolina.
The Enterprise, Alabama, native collected a team-high 10 birdies, with five coming in each round. The highlight of Steed’s first day at Colonial came in Round 1 approaching the turn, as he rolled off four straight birdies on Holes 8-11. The All-SEC freshman selection kept his momentum going early in Round 2, carding 1-under on four of his first six holes. Monday’s performance marked the first time this season Steed has finished under par in back-to-back rounds. It is his third under-par round of the season and 25th overall of his career.
Sophomore Will Hartman also ended the first day inside the top 15 on the player leaderboard. The All-American heads into Round 3 tied for 13th with a 36-hole score of 1-over 141. Hartman ended play on Monday by carding 2-under 68 in Round 3 to post his fifth round of par or lower this season.
Vanderbilt’s top-ranked freshman class of Luke Colton and Tyler Mawhinney closed Monday in a tie for 27th with a score of 3-over 143. Both first-year Commodores finished Round 1 at par or better. Colton, who made his debut in the Vanderbilt lineup on Monday, opened his stay at Colonial by carding a career-low 2-under 68. Meanwhile, Mawhinney finished Round 1 at even par 70. Sophomore Michael Riebe carded even par 70 in Round 2 to wrap up his first day at Colonial tied for 54th at 7-over 147.
The Commodores tee off Round 3 of the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at 8:48 a.m. on Tuesday. Vanderbilt opens play four strokes off the lead, which is held by No. 1-ranked Auburn after the Tigers carded 6-under 554 on Monday. Fans can click the link here for live scoring.
“Tomorrow is an important day for us because it’s our next opportunity to take a step together,” expressed Limbaugh. “We need to have some fun, be confident, and compete to our standards.”
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