EATONTON, Ga. — The Vanderbilt golf team battled all day with Georgia on Tuesday before coming up a few strokes short at the Linger Longer Invitational.
The Bulldogs edged the Commodores by four strokes thanks to an 8-under-round at the Great Waters Golf Course. Vandy finished at 24-under-par for the tournament and four strokes behind the champion Bulldogs.
“I thought we did a lot of good things today which I’m proud of. Guys really battled all day long which was good,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “We just didn’t do the things you have to do to win and Georgia did, so we give them a lot of credit. Sometimes you win and you don’t really get to learn because winning covers the little mistakes up. So hopefully we can and will learn and use it to make us better.
“We didn’t play the par 5s up to our standards and a few other little things we need to own if we want to be as good as we can.”
Vandy carded 17 birdies Tuesday and maintained its slim lead for much of the afternoon before Georgia sprinted out in front for good down the stretch. The Commodores just missed winning their third straight team tournament title.
Cole Sherwood, Gordon Sargent and Reid Davenport all finished inside the top 10 for Vanderbilt. Sargent and Sherwood each tied for fourth at 7-under-par while Davenport (-5) came in tied for ninth thanks to a 69 during his final 18.
Harrison Ott (-3) tied for 16th after an even-par round and Jackson Van Paris (-1) tied for 22nd. Vanderbilt junior William Moll, competing as an individual, tied for 34th overall at 4-over-par.
“I’m really proud of Reid and how he played today and gave us a chance,” Limbaugh said. “I also thought Gordon did a great job and he’s playing with a ton of consistency. Harrison and Jackson played a lot of good golf this week and Cole just continues to get better.”
The Commodores now return home to host the Mason Rudolph Championship held at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin beginning April 1. Vandy last hosted the 54-hole event in 2019 when it went 29-under-par to win a 17-team tournament.
“We aren’t disappointed in where we are, but we also know we need to improve before our next event. We can all be better if we continue to demand more from ourselves and more from each other,” Limbaugh said. “I’m excited that we get to play at home next weekend and I would love for our boys to be able to play in front of a great crowd.
“They are doing a lot of good things and I know they will be excited for that opportunity to play at home.”
