NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team, coming off a second-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship, returns to competition Monday at the 12th annual Windy City Collegiate Classic near Chicago.
The Commodores, ranked ninth nationally in Golfweek’s Sept. 26 poll, will face a talented field including four more top-10 teams at the 54-hole tournament. The entire field will play 36 holes at Glen View Club on Monday, then return to the course on Tuesday for the final round.
Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen looks forward to seeing his Commodores back in action after they missed a golden opportunity to capture the Mason Rudolph Championship team title last weekend.
“It’s a quick turnaround from the Mason (Rudolph), so we spent a lot of time last week making sure everything is in check academically,” Allen said. “We need to clean up a few things that we didn’t do very well last weekend, but the girls are really a fun bunch to coach. They continue to put in the work and have great attitudes.”
Allen’s squad will be represented by Abbey Carlson and Morgan Baxendale, both top-five individual finishers at the Mason Rudolph, season-opening victor Auston Kim, Louise Yu and Jayna Choi. A sixth Commodore, Celina Sattelkau, will compete individually.
Vanderbilt will be making its second appearance at the tournament.
A Talented Windy City Field
The Commodores are one of 10 teams ranked in Golfweek’s early-season Top 25 participating at the Windy City Collegiate Classic.
“I think we’re all ready to get back and compete again, and that’s exactly what we are going to have to do against this field. It’s as strong a field as we will see all year,” Allen said.
In addition to the Commodores, the field features No. 5 Arizona State, No. 6 Southern California, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Arizona, No. 12 Michigan, No. 19 South Carolina, No. 23 Oklahoma State, No. 24 Iowa State and No. 25 Duke.
Tournament host Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Virginia and Augusta State also will compete.
Commodores Enter Off Early Success
Vanderbilt enters the Windy City Collegiate Classic off two early-season successes. The Commodores opened the fall campaign with a resounding team and individual title at the Cougar Classic near Charleston, South Carolina. Kim paced the Commodores at the Cougar Classic by capturing a convincing individual victory.
The Commodores followed the Cougar Classic win with a second-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship home tournament. The team, led by Carlson and Baxendale, were close to the lead throughout the 54-hole tournament only to finish two shots backs of Houston.
The Glen View Club Venue
The Windy City Collegiate Classic will be on played at the Glen View Club, one of Chicagoland’s most established and recognized golf facilities.
The club, located five miles west of the Northwestern campus, became Chicago’s second 18-hole golf course when opened in 1897. Glen View quickly hosted some of golf’s top competitions, including the first Western Open in 1899, the 1902 United States Amateur and the 1904 United States Open. Two former U.S. presidents, William Taft and Warren Harding, were noted members.
The par-72 course, which was restored to its original design in a 2013 renovation by noted architect Jim Urbina, is expected to play up to 6,300 yards.
Weekend Weather
The Commodores will get a break from the recent heat wave that has engulfed middle Tennessee. Partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the low-80s and winds up to 12 miles per hour are expected Monday and Tuesday surrounding Chicago.
