SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Vanderbilt’s run toward a national title came to an end Tuesday morning on the Raptor Course at the Grayhawk Country Club.
The Commodores lost 4-1 to Oklahoma State in a match that came down to the final few holes. Junior Reid Davenport kept hope alive with a birdie on 17 and would go on to win 1 up – but the Cowboys closed out the other matches, three of which were by one point.
“We knew coming in here today that we didn’t have to be perfect, but we knew we had to be really good,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “They’re a great opponent, have guys with a lot of experience and coach (Gator) Todd and I knew going out the first two matches were really important.
“I thought our guys competed to our standards. I did. Got to give credit to Oklahoma State – they made a few more putts, made a few more shots and they’ll advance.”
Vanderbilt got off to a great start thanks to early wins by Davenport and Cole Sherwood. The Commodores were seemingly in control through the front nine.
Then Oklahoma State got hot.
The Cowboys led 4-0-1 after 11 holes played. Sand continued to slip through the hourglass with Oklahoma State still leading 4-0-1 after 14 holes played.
Davenport’s birdie on 17 provided a lifeline making the score 4-1, but that momentum only lasted for a short moment.
Sherwood would go on to drop his match 3&1 to Brian Stark, Michael Shears lost 2&1 to Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, William Moll fell 2&1 to Austin Eckroat and Matthew Riedel dropped his match 1 up to Bo Jin.
Vanderbilt’s 2020-21 season ended with team titles at the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate, SEC Championships and Kingston Springs Regional.
“So thankful for the support we had out here this week,” Limbaugh said. “We came out here for my first Regional in 2013. I think we had five fans. To come out here this year – the support we had, I’m pretty overwhelmed by that. That’s really special to me.”
