NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s golf tees off its 2026-27 campaign at the Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Golf Club in Charleston, South Carolina. The two-day tournament begins Monday, Sept. 7, in an 8:50 ET shotgun start.
Vanderbilt enters the season ranked No. 9 in the country by Golfweek and No. 17 by Golf Channel. The Commodores return a veteran group featuring seniors Ava Merrill, Sara Im and Macie Brown, juniors Angelina Tolentino and Claire Henson, and sophomores Elizabeth Rudisill, Kathryn Ha and Olivia Wood.
The Commodores will open the season with Tolentino, Merrill, Rudisill, Wood and Im in the lineup at the Cougar Classic. Kathryn Ha will also travel to Charleston and compete as an individual. Wood will be making her Vanderbilt debut after transferring from Chattanooga in January.
“The start of a new season always brings a lot of energy and excitement to the team, and this group is no different,” head coach Greg Allen said. “There is a really cool vibe with this group that we haven’t felt in a while so I’m anxious to see how it translates into competition. It’s nice that we have a lot of experience in this lineup, and I know Liv has been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“The girls played well this summer, and I know they will do everything they can to make sure they represent Vanderbilt to the best of their abilities.”
The Cougar Classic will welcome 18 teams, including six SEC rivals in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Five of the six SEC squads joining the Dores in Charleston are featured in the Golfweek Preseason Top 25. Two additional teams, North Carolina and UCF, sit just outside the top 25 in 26th and 29th, respectively.
“Yeamans Hall is a great golf course to start the season with and one that we’ve had some success on in the past,” Allen said. “It’s a pretty stacked field so we will need to put our best foot forward.”
Both Monday’s 36 holes of action and Tuesday’s final round will begin with a shotgun start. Live scoring is available on SCOREBOARD by Clippd.