ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Vanderbilt began its season Wednesday by ambushing the second round of the Frederica Cup to surge into the lead after 36 holes.
The Commodores shot a blistering 35-under-par for the second round to set an 18-hole NCAA record. Even though the tournament is a play-six, count-five format opposed to the traditional count-four, even that adjusted number for the lowest four scores lands at 32-under-par which breaks Oregon’s previous record of 30-under-par.
“Super exciting to see our guys have a round like that this afternoon,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “We knew we had to have a special round if we wanted to get ourselves back into contention and to go out and play that great was really fun.
“In my opinion, it takes a lot of courage to respond when you know you have to and it says a lot about their competitive character.”
Checking in with @GordonSargent5 after an historic day for the Dores in Georgia.#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/tFzLpr67pL
— Vanderbilt Men’s Golf (@VandyMGolf) September 7, 2022
At 46-under-par for the tournament, Vandy is two shots of ahead of Oklahoma going into Thursday’s final round.
Vanderbilt was led by William Moll on Wednesday. The senior, who got some encouraging words from former Vanderbilt star and PGA Tour member Will Gordon during Tuesday’s practice round, has the outright lead at 15-under-par.
The Houston, Texas, native found 14 birdies and an eagle during his first 36 holes of the season. Moll had just one bogey all day and leads Calum Scott of Texas Tech by one shot.
Defending individual national champion Gordon Sargent finished with a flourish thanks to a second-round 62. Sargent, tied for fifth overall at 12-under-par, birdied four of his first six holes on the back nine and then eagled his seventh.
Fellow preseason All-American Cole Sherwood is tied for eighth at 10-under-par for the tournament. Sherwood had eight birdies during his second round.
Matthew Riedel was impressive in his 2022-23 debut as well. Also from Houston, Texas, the senior fired a 64 during the second round, a round that included six birdies and an eagle that put him in a tie for 12th overall.
Reid Davenport, who had an eagle during his second round, is tied for 27th at 2-under-par. Jansen Preston is tied for 37th overall at 2-over-par.
“Everybody just went after it.”
— @matthew_riedel7 #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/xfEIkTcwMR
— Vanderbilt Men’s Golf (@VandyMGolf) September 7, 2022
“William was really good all day long and his round this morning was huge for our team,” Limbaugh said. “Cole played good golf today and always gives the team everything he has. I am really proud of how Matthew responded in the second round after not finishing the first round the way he wanted to.
“Gordon did a great job resetting and refocusing after a tough break on 18 to finish the first round which shows a lot of maturity. His afternoon round was great and I thought he putted it awesome. Everyone hung in there all day long which is the type of standards we want to have for ourselves.”
In fifth place overall going into Wednesday’s second round, the Commodores caught fire on the front nine and surged into the lead. Riedel led the way with four straight birdies followed by a par and then an eagle, one of three eagles for Vandy on the front nine of the second round.
Sargent began his round with three birdies in a row and he and Sargent combined for 10 birdies before making the turn.
Vandy kept rolling right along through the back nine with 16 more birdies and just three bogeys.
Vanderbilt began the tournament with an early-morning tee time and was quickly off and running. After nine holes, the Dores were 9-under-par as a team, three shots back of Texas Tech and were led by Moll’s 31 and five birdies.
Moll finished his bogey-free first round with an 8-under-par 64 and was one stroke off the individual lead.
The Commodores finished 11-under-par as a team and were 10 strokes back of Oklahoma after 18 holes. Vandy found 28 birdies in its opening round.
Vanderbilt is scheduled to tee off at 7:24 a.m. CT Thursday. Live scoring for the final round can be found HERE.
“Thursday should be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to try to keep the momentum going and finish the tournament strong,” Limbaugh said. “We are trying to create the identity of what this team is going to be about and today was a good step. We want to have all six guys battling and having fun getting the chance to compete. It’s about looking forward and moving on mentally to the next opportunity.”
