Next up: The SEC Championship.
Vanderbilt won the Clemson Invitational on Tuesday after the third and final round at the Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C., was cancelled because of severe thunderstorms. When play was called on Tuesday, officials reverted back to the standings at the end of Monday’s 36-hole day. Vanderbilt played the first two rounds in 21 under to defeat runner-up Auburn by eight shots.
"Days like today show that it pays to play well in the first two rounds. You never know when weather will pop up on top of you," he said. "I do wish we could've finished today. I think playing those last 6-9 holes would have been a great learning opportunity for us. We were playing okay but there were some teams playing really well and making a move.
"Nevertheless, I'm thrilled to get this win. This group works so hard and they're doing some really special things for our program."
Five wins in a single season matches a Vanderbilt program record. (One of those wins was in a match-play event, the Lamkin Invitational in San Diego.) The last team to win so many times was the 2003-04 Vanderbilt women’s squad.
Two players tied for the individual title at the Clemson Invitational, including Auburn’s Julie McCarthy and Tennessee’s Michaela Williams. Vanderbilt named three of the next four on the leaderboard, including Auston Kim and Courtney Zeng in a tie for third and Abbey Carlson with a share of fifth.
The SEC Championship is one of the few conferences decided by match play, which will be good practice for the NCAA Championship. The conference championship begins April 17 in Birmingham, Ala.