ST ANDREWS, Scotland – Vanderbilt men’s golf junior Gordon Sargent is set to help the United States defend its title at the 49th Walker Cup Match. Play takes place Saturday and Sunday on the Old Course at St Andrews.
Sargent is one of 10 American golfers heading across the pond to compete against a combined Great Britain and Ireland team. The 2022 NCAA individual champion was an automatic selection to the USA Walker Cup team, as he was the top-ranked American amateur golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Recently, Sargent won the Mark H. McCormack Medal, which is given annually to the world’s top-ranked men’s amateur player. In June, the junior was a member of the U.S. team that won the Arnold Palmer Cup. Later that month, Sargent qualified for the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club, where he finished tied for 39th after carding 284 over four rounds to earn low amateur honors in what was his second major championship appearance.
Sargent will have plenty of support from Commodore Nation at St Andrews, as Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh and his wife will be in attendance at the Walker Cup to root him on. Sargent’s first match at the Walker Cup will be set on Friday. His Sunday opponent will be determined after Saturday’s round.
The Walker Cup is a two-day golf match played between two 10-man teams of amateur golfers, one from the United States of America and the other from Great Britain and Ireland, for the biennial event. Both days will feature four foursome matches in the morning, followed by a series of singles matches in the afternoon; eight on Day 1 and 10 on Day 2. There is a total of 26 points available, a team must secure at least 13 ½ points to win the match outright. An individual match win earns one point, while a halved match equals a half point for both sides.
Fans can watch the 49th Walker Cup on the Golf Channel and Peacock. The Golf Channel will air Saturday’s rounds from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. CT, while play on Sunday will air from 7 a.m.–1 p.m. CT. Singles match play at the Walker Cup can be viewed on Peacock starting at 12:45 p.m. CT on Saturday and 12:15 p.m. CT on Sunday. Check with @VandyMGolf on social media to follow along with Sargent’s progress at the Walker Cup.
This will be the ninth time that St Andrews’ Old Course will host the Walker Cup, which first hosted the event 100 years ago. The USA has won three-straight Walker Cups and holds a 38-9-1 lead in the biennial competition.
Golf Channel Selects Trio of Vandy Golfers as Preseason All-Americans
The Commodores were well represented on Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine’s preseason All-American selections, as he projects a trio of Vanderbilt men’s golfers to earn accolades this season. Sargent highlighted the group as a first team All-American selection, while senior Cole Sherwood and graduate student William Moll were each selected as second team All-Americans. Junior Jackson Van Paris was also selected in the group of ‘Next Five’ by Golf Channel.
As a team, Vanderbilt came in at No. 2 in Romine’s 2023-24 preseason national rankings and will also open the campaign third after receiving five first-place votes in the initial Bushnell/Golfweek DI Coaches poll. The Commodores open the 2023-24 season at the Valero Texas Collegiate, which takes place Sept. 9-11 at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.
For more information and exclusive content on the Vanderbilt men’s golf team, follow @VandyMGolf on Instagram and Twitter.
