MELBOURNE, Florida — The Commodores are in the middle of the pack after the first day of the Moon Golf Invitational with a team total 6-under par, 282.
Vanderbilt is in sixth place in a tight field, only trailing the podium by three strokes and first place LSU by six.
“I thought today was an okay day that could have been a really good day,” Vandy head coach Greg Allen said. “The girls definitely felt like we left some shots out there, but I’m okay with that feeling because it shows me they really want this.”
Natasha Kiel led the Vanderbilt squad with a 3-under par 69 that currently has her tied for 13th place individually. She capped off a bogey-free back nine with a birdie on the 18th, her third on the back and fifth of the round.
“I thought Nat was very solid today,” Allen said. “She seemed to be in control of her game and her emotions all day.”
Following Kiel by one stroke is freshman Tillie Claggett who notched a 2-under 70. Senior captain Celina Sattelkau finished round one with a one-under 71 thanks to her team-high six birdies on the day. Virginie Ding and Tess Davenport both carded even par rounds.
“It was nice to see the effort from all the girls. It’s nice to have our throw out score be even par,” Allen said. “I think we lost some focus on 13-15 but I like the fight we showed making some birdies down the stretch.”
Vanderbilt sits in the top of many statistical categories after the first round, including third most birdies with 21 total.
Thirty six holes remain for the Commodores as they look to win back-to-back tournaments and defeat an abundant amount of ranked foes, many of whom they will see in the SEC Championships in April.
Vanderbilt is scheduled to tee off at 7:50 a.m. CT Monday alongside Florida and Auburn—both tied for fourth place— and seventh-place Virginia Tech. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
