Vanderbilt Men’s Golf placed 13th at the SEC Championships at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, from April 23-25. After a rocky start in Round One, Vanderbilt showed resilience and fought its way up the leaderboard. Despite a late push, the Commodores ultimately fell short of advancing to match play, with their week ending early after three rounds of stroke play.
The Commodores entered the tournament ranked No. 18 nationally and had high hopes for a deep run. However, their opening round told a different story. Vanderbilt stumbled out of the gates, posting a 12-over-par 292 that left it in 16th place, last in the standings.
“You kind of get what you deserve, and you don’t always get what you want,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said after the first round. “We made some mistakes early, and it put us in a big hole. When that happens in this league, it’s hard to climb out.”
Vanderbilt showed some signs of life in Round Two, climbing three spots to 13th place. The Commodores fired a 5-under 275, the fourth-best team score of the round. They continued that momentum into the final round, carding a 3-under 277 to finish the tournament at 4-over 844.
Although Vanderbilt’s final two rounds were a big improvement from its first, the 8-under-par stretch over the last 36 holes ranked seventh among the 14 teams that completed stroke play and the early deficit was simply too much to overcome.
Senior Jackson Van Paris led the way individually for Vanderbilt. In his final SEC Championship appearance, he finished tied for 22nd at 3-under 207 (73-65-69). His second-round 65 was one of the best of the day and helped spark the Commodores’ comeback.
First-year Ryan Downes also delivered a strong performance in his SEC Championship debut. After an up-and-down opening round, he responded with an even 70 and a 1-under 69 in his final two rounds to tie for 37th at 1-over 211.
Junior Wells Williams provided a lift, too, posting a 2-under 68 in the final round — the team’s best score of the day — to finish tied for 45th at 2-over 212. Sophomore Chase Nevins (T-57, +4) and senior Gordon Sargent (T-75, +12) rounded out Vanderbilt’s lineup.
The SEC Championship marked the first time since the current format was introduced in 2017 that Vanderbilt failed to reach the match-play portion of the tournament. In past years, the Commodores have been dominant at Sea Island, capturing multiple titles and advancing to the semifinals or beyond on several occasions.
Still, Limbaugh emphasized the importance of learning from adversity as the team looks ahead to the postseason.
“This is a tough pill to swallow, but it’s part of it,” Limbaugh said. “We’re going to keep our heads up, get better, and be ready to go when it matters most. I’m proud of the way the guys fought these last two days.”
The Commodores now await their NCAA Regional assignment, with selections scheduled for May 1. Vanderbilt will look to regroup and channel the progress they showed over the final two rounds into a deep postseason run.
