CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Vanderbilt will take a four-shot lead into the second round of the Cabo Collegiate on Monday after finishing as the only team under-par during the first round at the Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Sunday.
The Commodores shot a 280 (-4) and lead Ole Miss by four strokes. Three other teams sit eight shots back of No. 1-ranked Vandy.
“First of all, the golf course was a tremendous test today and I felt like it was the kind of test that prepares you for championship golf,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “Nobody knew what to expect from a scoring perspective so we asked the guys to just go compete to our standards—and I thought we did that for the most part today.
“I’m encouraged about how our guys kind of adapted to the conditions and hole locations.”
Vanderbilt also has a pair of golfers in the hunt for the individual title going into Monday’s action.
Matthew Riedel carded a 3-under-par and is alone in second place while Gordon Sargent is second overall thanks to an opening-round 69. Sargent started his day with three straight birdies and ended with back-to-back birdies. Riedel had just one bogey in his round.
Wells Williams played the course Sunday at even par and is tied for 11th overall, Cole Sherwood is tied for 17th overall after a 1-over-par 72 and Reid Davenport, who had an eagle to begin his round, is tied for 34th after a 74.
Competing as an individual, Jackson Van Paris is tied for 25th at 2-over-par.
“Matthew really played well today and did a great job playing to his strengths, believing in his plan and committing to his shots. Those are things we talk about all the time and it’s great to see guys do them in those conditions,” Limbaugh said. “Gordon started and finished his round really well so that was good. Wells was really solid today and he’s doing a great job just playing and bringing some new energy to the group.
“Cole played pretty well today and he will be there for us going forward. Reid finished strong to gain some momentum and that’s always important because it’s going to take all five guys this week if we want to be successful.”
Vanderbilt is scheduled to begin its second round at 9 a.m. Monday and will be playing alongside Ole Miss, Baylor and Arizona State. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
“Days like today are when trust is built and you have to be able to hang in there mentally when things get hard,” Limbaugh added. “I also know we can be a little more mentally and emotionally strong in certain areas than we were today and that will be my challenge to the guys Sunday night.
“We cannot accept being average in those areas if we want to be the best team we can be. I believe in this group and I know they will be ready to go Monday. We need to play Vandy golf, lock in from the start and have fun.”
