CABO SAN JOSE, Mexico – The women’s golf squad could not make a final-day charge at the Battle of the Beach on Sunday, settling for a fifth-place team finish.
Vanderbilt’s bid for the trophy ended quickly in the closing round when tournament leader Auburn widened their margin early with four birdies with the Commodores unable to match the Tigers.
The final-round performance will not dampen a superb fall campaign by Greg Allen’s squad. The Commodores used a victory at the Mason Rudolph Championships in Franklin and a runner-up finish at the Powerade Cougar Classic near Charleston, S.C. to earn a top-10 national ranking by Golfweek and Golfstat.
The Commodores posted a 10-over total of 294 on Sunday, ending the tournament with a three-day total of 17-over 869. They were led by junior Abbey Carlson, who claimed a top-10 finish in the individual competition.
While disappointed with his team’s final-round performance, Allen saw plenty of positives moving forward to the spring when the coach hopes to see his squad qualify for another appearance in the season-ending NCAA Championships.
“Today certainly didn’t play out the way we were hoping for. Auburn played lights out and unfortunately, we went the other direction, ” Allen said. “Today we just made too many big numbers and didn’t make enough putts.”
“I still saw a lot of positives for this team. We’re played some great golf at times and we’ve raised the standard on how we want to do things each day. We know what we need to work on during the offseason so we can put ourselves in a position to play at a high level in each tournament this spring,” Allen added.
Carlson, from Lake Mary, Fla., capped a strong fall by shooting the team’s low score on Sunday. Carlson used five birdies to close with a 1-under 71. After opening with a 7-over 78, Carlson posted rounds of 67 and 71 to claim a tie for ninth-place in the medalist race.
Carlson’s teammates struggled in the final round. Louise Yu, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., posted a 2-over par 72 despite making four birdies. She ended the tourney tied for 29th place with a three-day total of 8-over 221.
Sophomore Morgan Baxendale and freshman Annie Kim also finished the tourney at 8-over. Baxendale, from Windermere, Fla., managed just one birdie in a round of 4-over par 75. Kim, who attended prep school in central Florida, finished with a 5-over par 76 after shooting 73-72 in the opening rounds.
Auston Kim, a freshman from St. Augustine, Fla., finished in a tie for 36th place. On Sunday, she struggled to shoot 81 after going 73-68 through 36 holes.
The Commodores will return to action in early February at the UCF Challenge in Orlando.
Battle at the Beach
Final Results
Team Standings
1. Auburn 845 (287-278-280)
2. TCU 862 (298-287-277)
3. Texas 865 (292-289-284)
4. Clemson 866 (307-274-285)
5. Vanderbilt 869 (298-277-294)
6. Oklahoma 872 (299-285-288)
T-7. Mississippi State 879 (294-294-291)
T-7. Missouri 879 (302-285-292
9. Virginia 893 (298-302-293)
10. Houston 900 (304-295-301)
11. Tulane 906 (298-308-300)
12. Baylor 909 (304-303-302)
13. New Mexico 916 (313-299-304)
14. UAB 917 (322-309-286)
15. Iowa 918 (308-319-291)
16. Denver 919 (309-306-304)
17. Tulsa 925 (313-316-296)
Vanderbilt Individuals
T-9. Abbey Carlson (+2) 215 (77-67-71)
T-29. Annie Kim (+8) 221 (73-72-76)
T-29. Morgan Baxendale (+8) 221 (76-71-75)
T-29. Louise Yu (+8) 221 (77-71-73)
T-36. Auston Kim (+9) 222 (73-68-81)
