Vanderbilt once again did most of the heavy lifting on Isleworth’s back nine. The team went 9 under there on Sunday afternoon on the way to an opening 12-under 276. On Monday, Vanderbilt went 6 under on the back nine, and was 6 under on the day. At 18 under, the Commodores now lead the Tavistock by eight shots over second-place Texas Tech and 13 over third-place Auburn.
Vanderbilt sophomore Mason Greenberg’s 72 was also key, and the fourth score, a 74, came from senior Patrick Martin.
"Today was a new day with another new set of challenges and I thought we handled it pretty well for the most part," Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. "I was really excited about how we finished the round. Mason showed some poise today and competed very well and I was proud of that. John played an awesome round today. I felt like his wedge shot on 10 got us going. Will did a great job staying patient today and understanding the front nine was tough. I thought that allowed him to finish strong."
Vanderbilt doesn’t have a win yet this season, but the results are getting progressively better even as the competition gets progressively deeper. The Commodores have competed in two of the fall's toughest fields in their past two starts. Earlier this month, Vanderbilt was second in a stacked Nike Golf Collegiate field.
The Tavistock Collegiate features four of the top 20 teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings (No. 11 Texas, No. 16 Illinois, No. 18 LSU, No. 20 Auburn). The Commodores are No. 21.
"We came here talking about trying to play a complete golf tournament and doing it with poise, purpose, and passion," said Limbaugh. "The guys have done a good job with that the first two days and we have another opportunity tomorrow to take a good step on our climb. Once again, we need to have fun, embrace the challenges, and play Vandy golf."
Information from Vanderbilt Athletics used in this report