We were down.
We weren’t out.@ColeSherwood25 for the win. 💥 #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/OUe4MfYJ4s
— Vanderbilt Men’s Golf (@VandyMGolf) February 21, 2023
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida — An eagle from Cole Sherwood on the 17th hole Tuesday gave Vanderbilt a dramatic, come-from-behind win at the Watersound Invitational
Georgia Tech shot an incredible 21-under-par in the final round and led for most of the afternoon. But Sherwood, who was 1-over-par on the back nine through 16, stepped up on the par-5 17th for the shot of the day.
The Commodores finished 38-under-par to edge the Yellow Jackets by a shot. The victory gives Vandy its third win in a row and 10th since February of 2022.
“My goodness what a finish!” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “We are just so proud of how our boys battled until the end, dug deep, and found a way to get the job done. Obviously, Georgia Tech played awesome today and we certainly take our hat’s off to them. They are a really good team and it’s great for us to get pushed like that and find a way to respond. They made a ton of plays and then our guys made some special plays down the stretch.”
Sherwood would wind up tied for fourth at 12-under-par for the event wile teammate Gordon Sargent provided the low round of the day for the Dores. The defending national champion shot a 66 during a bogey-free day and rose into a tie for second place.
Frederik Kjettrup of Florida State finished 18-under-par for the tournament to claim medalist honors.
Matthew Riedel also had a strong day for the Commodores by shooting a 68 and finished eighth overall at 9-under-par. Wells Williams (-4) tied for 14th and Jackson Van Paris (+2) tied for 34th.
Reid Davenport, playing as an individual, had an outstanding day at 4-under-par and came in tied for 18th.
“Cole made 25-foot putts on the final two holes to get the team win. His ability to lock in on those moments really says a lot about who he is,” Limbaugh said. “Gordon played really well today and continues to play at an extremely high level. Matthew does so many good things in his game, works hard and continues to lift our team up with his play.
“I’m proud of Wells as he stepped up for the second week in a row and did a great job staying calm out there which is very good to see. Jackson didn’t play how he wanted to today, but we believe in him and know he can help us be the team we want to be. It was great to see Reid play a good final round and he’s close to playing some great golf.”
Vanderbilt will next be in action March 5-7 when it travels to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for the Cabo Collegiate.
“This was a great team win and we are excited about how these guys rose to the challenge,” Limbaugh said. “However, we have to continue to stay hungry for improvement and not allow the disease of me to rob us of our joy. When you are the hunted, you have to fight to protect each other and move forward together. And that is not an easy thing to do, but it is necessary for sustaining success.
“This is the best time of these guys’ lives and I’m having a great time with them. It’s a long spring season and we have to continue to learn to overcome our fears by having a strong spirit.”
