CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico – The nationally-ranked Vanderbilt women’s golf team will look to finish off a superb fall campaign this weekend by making a repeat performance at the second annual Battle of the Beach, staged on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
The Commodores will look to improve their national standing at the Battle of the Beach, which starts Friday at Club Campestre San Jose. Vanderbilt enters the competition ranked No. 3 by GolfWeek and No. 5 by Golfstat.
Greg Allen’s Commodore lineup will feature junior Abbey Carlson, sophomores Morgan Baxendale and Louise Yu, and freshmen Auston Kim and Annie Kim.
Vanderbilt faces an extremely talented field at the Battle of the Beach. Joining the Commodores in the field are six teams ranked in Golfweek’s Top 30: No. 9 Virginia, No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 19 Baylor, No. 26 Auburn, No. 27 Oklahoma and No. 28 Clemson. Other teams are Denver, Houston, Iowa, Mississippi State, New Mexico, TCU, Tulane, Tulsa and UAB.
The 54-hole tourney will be held at Club Camprestre San Jose just east of Cabo San Lucas. The 6,209-yard Jack Nicklaus design, is nestled in the foothills of the Sierras and ranks among the Baja’s top golf destinations, offering dramatic elevation changes, incredible panoramic views and difficult undulating greens.
Allen wants to see the Commodores conclude the fall on a high note, building on a team victory at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, runner-up finish at the Powerade Cougar Classic near Charleston, S.C., and a solid sixth-place result at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“I reminded the girls today of how lucky we are just to play at places like Cabo. We do not take trips like this for granted,” Allen said. “This tournament will be another big challenge for our team but I’m anxious to get started Friday and see if we can finish the fall like we started.”
This marks the third straight year that Vanderbilt has competed off American soil. They were in the first Battle at the Beach last year and participated in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in February 2016.
Eighteen holes will be played each day, featuring a shotgun format start at 10:30 a.m. CT. The Commodore contingent are expected to start their first round on the back hole. Live scoring can be found on BirdieFire.com throughout the week.
Commodore individuals entering Battle at the Beach in excellent form
Several Commodore individuals, including Carlson and Auston Kim, have played superb golf entering the Battle at the Beach. Both were named last month to the latest ANNIKA Award watch list for excellent performances earlier in the year.
Carlson is currently ranked No. 3 nationally by Golfweek on the strength of a superb individual win at the Mason Rudolph Championships in September. She fired back-to-back rounds of 6-under 66 to claim medalist honors by five shots at the event, which was held at the Vanderbilt Legends Club North course. Kim, a talented first-year player, is ranked 22nd by Golfweek, and has registered top-10 finishes in her first two collegiate appearances, including a seventh-place result at the Mason Rudolph.
Baxendale, an All-SEC freshman last year, is coming off a tie for 14th place individually at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational. Yu’s top effort this fall has been a tie for 15th place at the Cougar Classic.
LPGA Commodores in Japan this week
Former Vanderbilt standouts Marina Alex and Jacqui Concolino are entered in the 45th Toto Japan Classic, a 54-hole LPGA event that starts Friday. Daily coverage on the Golf Channel starts Friday at 10 p.m. CT.
Alex, who captured the first-ever LPGA tournament by a Commodore this summer in Portland, ranks 11th on the LPGA’s Race to CME Globe season-ending standings. She is the highest-ranking American for the Race to CME Globe Championship, which concludes the tour Nov. 15-18 in Naples, Fla.
Alex also is currently sixth among Americans on the Solheim Cup standings, and is No. 14 on the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year charts.
Concolino ranks 50th in the Race to CME Globe standings. She is coming off a tie for 20th place in Taiwan last week.
