Vanderbilt off to a fast start at the NCAA Men's Championships
Cole Sherwood (Vanderbilt Athletics photo)
Vanderbilt arrived at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz. as hot as the desert conditions that greeted the 30 team field on Friday.
Winners of six team titles in their last seven events, including the Palm Beach Gardens Regional. the Commodores find themselves in a familiar position atop the leaderboard after the first round of stroke play at the Grayhawk Golf Club.
With temperatures reaching triple digits, the Dores opened with a 2-over par round to lead Oregon and Auburn by three strokes. William Moll, Moll, Gordon Sargent and Cole Sherwood paced Vanderbilt on Friday as all three players carded even-par rounds of 70 to find themselves tied for eighth place among the individuals.
Kansas senior Kansas Harry Hillier and Auburn's Brendan Valdes share the first-round lead after opening with 2-under rounds of 68.
Top-ranked Oklahoma opened the national championship with a 287 (+7) and sits alone in sixth place while Oklahoma State currently holds onto the eighth position at 9-over.
Defending NCAA Champion Pepperdine is tied for 14th place after an opening with a 14-over 294 at the par-70 Raptor Course. The Waves are 12 shots off the lead, but more importantly, five shots back of eighth place.
The top 15 teams will advance after Sunday’s third round, and the top teams after Monday’s fourth round will qualify for match play.
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At a Glance: Day One at Grayhawk
Top Eight Teams as of Today: 1. Vanderbilt (+2). t-2. Oregon (+5); Auburn t-4. Kansas (+6); Arizona; 6. Oklahoma (+7); 7. North Carolina (+8); 8. Oklahoma State (+9).
The Next Seven: t-9. Arizona State (+10); Liberty; t-11. Florida State (+11); Texas, Georgia; t-14. Pepperdine (+14); Arkansas.
Top Five Individuals: t-1. Harry Hillier, Kansas (-2); Brendan Valdes, Auburn. 3. five tied (-1).
ABOUT THE NCAA Division I Championship
30 teams and 6 individuals not on a qualifying
team make up the field for the championship of
NCAA
Division I women's golf.
After 72 holes of stroke play, the individual
champion is crowned, and the low 8 teams advance
to
match play to determine the team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information