NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt makes its anticipated return to the Cabo Collegiate this week, opening the three-day tournament Sunday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The Commodores stormed past the field in the 2022 event, going from fifth after two rounds to win by two strokes over Texas Tech. Cole Sherwood led the charge in the final round of that event by shooting a Vanderbilt record 61 and a three-round total of 196 (also a Vandy record).
Sherwood and the Dores will be looking to defend its title against an always-tough field of some of the nation’s best.
“We have a lot of fun on this trip and that’s what helps create the memories. However, this is an important week for us and we want to take another step in the right direction,” Vandy head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “We did a lot of good things in our last tournament, but there’s a lot of things we have to do more consistently if we want to be the team we know we can be.
“We are playing a new course this year which we are excited about. Each player has to create and be committed to their plan. A season is a cumulative effect and each time you get to play matters and it is a privilege. This is our next opportunity to compete and we have to continue to earn the right to be heard and that’s every player’s responsibility.”
Vanderbilt is on a remarkable run of three consecutive tournaments titles having won the East Lake Cup, John Hayt Invitational and Watersound Invitational, respectively. The Commodores now have four tournament championships this season —the 2015-16 team is the only other squad in program history to win four.
Vandy’s quintet this week will include Sherwood, Gordon Sargent, Matthew Riedel, Reid Davenport and Wells Williams. Jackson Van Paris will be competing as an individual.
Sargent is one individual victory away from becoming the program’s all-time leader in wins. The sophomore and World Amateur Golf Rankings top player has four career victories under his belt.
The 2023 Cabo Collegiate field includes Vanderbilt, Abilene Christian, Alabama (17), Arizona (19), Arizona State (3), Arkansas, Baylor (23), Florida State (9), Houston, Mississippi, Oklahoma State (18), Rice, Stanford (4), Tennessee (14) and Texas Tech (2). Those teams will be looking to conquer the Twin Dolphin Club course which is set to play at a par 71 over 7,156 yards.
“This is really such a great trip and we are so fortunate to be able to do it,” Limbaugh said. “Through the years, you meet special people that support college golf and we’ve certainly done that here at the Cabo Collegiate. Our host family, Mark and April Anthony, have become some of our closest friends and just love on our student-athletes so well.
“We are thankful for them and B.A. Kline and what she does to make this event the best. This is a college golf major and it’s because of the attention to detail she puts into it.”
Vandy will be paired with Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Arizona for the opening round And is scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. CT Sunday. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
Dores Retain Top Spot
After its one-stroke win at the Watersound Invitational against a powerful field, Vanderbilt remains Bushnell/Golfweek DI Coaches Poll’s No. 1-ranked team. The Commodores, who’ve started their spring campaign with two victories, received all 20 first-place votes and 500 points in the process.
Texas Tech, Arizona State, North Carolina and Auburn rounded out the top five, respectively, while Stanford, Illinois, Pepperdine, Oklahoma and Florida State completed the top 10.
