FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt men’s golf team took advantage of morning rains at the Vanderbilt Legends Club’s North Course to shoot an 11-under par, 277, and are in a tie for fourth with Kennesaw State with a two-round score of 562 (285-277) heading into the final round Wednesday. The top five teams and best individual not affiliated with those five teams advance to the NCAA Championship May 27-June 1 in Eugene, Oregon.
The Commodores, who accumulated 25 birdies on the day, were led by sophomore Theo Humphrey, who accounted for seven of those birdies and carded a six-under 66 to lead Vanderbilt. Humphrey registered birdies on one, six, seven, nine, and then on his final three holes on Tuesday and is in a tie for sixth on the individual leader board.
Junior Matthias Schwab and freshman Will Gordon each carded a two-under par, 70, on Tuesday, with Vanderbilt also counting a one-under 71 from senior Carson Jacobs and freshman Patrick Martin.
Vanderbilt and Kennesaw State are one shot ahead of the cut line in front of sixth-place Washington and five strokes ahead of seventh-place Houston.
“I love how the guys competed all day,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We played well and finished strong. It was a team effort. Theo really lifted the team up today, which is what we needed.”
Texas maintains their team lead at the Franklin Regional with a 37-under par, 539 (268-271). The Longhorns fired a 17-under, 271, on Tuesday, which added to their 20-under, 268, total on Monday, and hold a 17-shot lead on second-place Virginia, who carded a 17-under, 271, and have a total of 556 (285-271) in two days. Third-place and defending national champion LSU also went low on Tuesday, finishing the day with a 16-under par, 272, and moved from seventh to third in the team standings with a two-day score of 562 (288-272).
Doug Ghim of Texas and Ryan Cole of James Madison have the individual lead with a two-round score of 133. Cole surged to the top of the individual leader board after shooting an eight-under, 64, on Tuesday. Cole and Texas’ Beau Hossler shared the honors for the low round of the day.
“Tomorrow is another great opportunity for us,” said Limbaugh. “We need to take the momentum we gained from our finish today and carry it over to tomorrow. We need to have fun, focus on the right things, and not get too emotional.”
The final round of the NCAA Franklin Regional concludes on Wednesday.
T4. Vanderbilt – 285-277=562
T6. Theo Humphrey – 70-66=136
T19. Patrick Martin – 70-71=141
T26. Will Gordon – 72-70=142
T29. Matthias Schwab – 73-70=143
T36. Carson Jacobs – 73-71=144
