COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – The number-one seed Vanderbilt men’s golf team carded a second-round, three-under 285 team total on Tuesday and maintained their lead at the NCAA College Grove Regional at The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., with a total of 12-under par 564 (279-285) after two days of play. The Commodores lead a trio of teams in second place, Lipscomb, Clemson and UCF, by eight shots heading into the final round on Wednesday. The top five teams at the regional will advance to the NCAA Championship May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Ill.
The Commodores were led by Patrick Martin, who shot a three-under 69 on Tuesday in the second round. The sophomore from Birmingham posted four birdies in his round and is currently in second place on the individual leader board. For the tournament, Martin has a team-best 13 birdies.
Vanderbilt also counted a one-under 71 from sophomore Will Gordon, who had five birdies in his second round, an even-par 72 from junior Theo Humphrey, and a one-over 73 from senior Matthias Schwab. Freshman John Augenstein finished his second round at two-over, 74.
“I am proud of how we competed today and how we were able to turn in a solid round,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We did some good things and were able to hang in there on a pretty tough day. Patrick did a great job for our team again today. He was really steady and in control all day. Will did a nice job getting us off to a good start today, which was important. We have to continue to learn from our mistakes so we can grow and take a step towards being the team we know we can be.”
Vanderbilt, who also led after the first round at The Grove, is the tournament leader in par four scoring (4.01, +1) and par five scoring (4.70, -12), and have 46 combined birdies in the first two days of the regional, nine better than second-place Lipscomb.
Martin trails Lipscomb’s Dawson Armstrong for the individual lead by one shot heading into the final round with a two-round score of nine-under 135 (66-69). Humphrey is in a tie for seventh with a 141 total (69-72), Augenstein is tied for 19th with a 145 (71-74), while Schwab and Gordon are in a tie for 22nd with a 146.
The third and final round of the tournament concludes on Wednesday at The Grove. The Commodores will begin their round at 8:45 a.m. CT.
“Tomorrow is an important day and we need to stay in our process and play to our standards,” said Limbaugh. “There are no excuses this time of year so we need to have a positive mindset and choose confidence in how we approach this opportunity.”
1. Vanderbilt – 279-285=564
2. Patrick Martin – 66-69=135
T7. Theo Humphrey – 69-72=141
T19. John Augenstein – 71-74=145
T22. Matthias Schwab – 73-73=146
T22. Will Gordon – 75-71=146
