PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – The No. 3-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team maintained its lead throughout Tuesday’s second round at the 2024 Watersound Invitational, as the Commodores take a seven-stroke lead into the final round of play.
Vanderbilt carded 10-under 278 for the second-straight day, as the Commodores hold a 36-hole score of 20-under 556. Vandy has collected 39 birdies as a team through two rounds, which is the second-most in the tournament. The Dores continued to excel on par 5s, as Vanderbilt holds a par 5 score of 18-under. The Commodores ended play with four golfers sitting inside the top 10 for the second-straight day. Vandy heads into Wednesday’s final round holding a seven-stroke lead over second-place Clemson.
“I’m having a lot of fun watching our team compete and proud of the way they keep hanging in there tough,” said Vanderbilt men’s golf head coach Scott Limbaugh. I thought we finished the round strong again like we did yesterday, which was great. Jackson and Gordon have been real solid so far and Cole’s round today was obviously a really good one. Wells has looked good these first two days and that’s big for our team. I love seeing everyone getting pushed and continuing to raise the bar for themselves and each other.”
Juniors Gordon Sargent and Jackson Van Paris sit in a tie for second place on the player leaderboard, as each golfer has carded 6-under 138 through two rounds of play at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course.
Van Paris moved up three spots in Round 2, as the Pinehurst, North Carolina, native carded 3-under 69 for the second-consecutive round. Van Paris collected seven birdies during the second round, pushing the junior’s tournament total to a field-best 11 going into Wednesday’s finale.
For Sargent, he finished Round 2 of the Watersound Invitational at 2-under 70. The All-American was consistent throughout the day, as he shot par or better on 17-straight holes after going 1-over on his first hole of the round. Sargent birdied Holes 1, 3, and 6, to give him a total of eight through two rounds.
Senior Cole Sherwood made the biggest move up the player leaderboard during Round 2, as he carded 6-under 66 to jump up 39 spots and end his day in a tie for ninth. The Austin, Texas, native posted Vanderbilt’s second eagle of the tournament, as he finished two-under on Hole 6, the same hole that graduate student William Moll collected his eagle during Round 1.
Sophomore Wells Williams, who is playing as an individual at the Watersound Invitational, also ended his day inside the top 10. His two-round score of 4-under 140 puts him in a tie for ninth going into Wednesday’s finale. The sophomore carded under par for the second-straight day, as he finished Round 2 at 1-under 71.
“I don’t think we have had our best stuff from a physical perspective, but the guys have hung in there and found ways to shoot good scores, which should give them a lot of confidence,” added Limbaugh. “Tomorrow will require toughness, patience, and focus on what it takes to execute each shot.”
The final round of the 2024 Watersound Invitational gets underway Wednesday at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course. Vanderbilt will tee off between 8:40-9:30 a.m. on Hole 1. Fans can follow all of the action via live results at GolfStat.com.
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