Tag: Vanderbilt Commodores

These are the top men’s college golf storylines to watch in 2023-24

It’s going to be an exciting season in men’s college golf.

The summer has come and gone, which means the 2023-24 college golf season is here.

Last season, there was no shortage of excitement. Florida got hot at the end of the year, won the SEC Championship, then went on a run to capture the NCAA Championship for the fifth title in school history.

Now, there’s no shortage of storylines to follow as we head into the 2023-24 season, including the national championship moving to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, next May. There’s also Florida reloading, the chasers and the early Player of the Year favorite looking to build off a big summer.

Here’s a look at some of the top storylines for the 2023-24 men’s college golf season.

Gordon Sargent wins Mark H. McCormack Medal as world’s best male amateur golfer

Golf fans will get a few more chances to see the rising star next season on the game’s biggest stages.

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Golf fans will get a few more chances to see rising star Gordon Sargent next season on the game’s biggest stages.

The 20-year-old junior at Vanderbilt was announced as the winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading male in the 2023 World Amateur Golf Ranking. The honor earns Sargent exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.

“It’s really special to have won the McCormack Medal, especially when you see the names of the golfers who have won it before, and everything that comes along with it, including the major exemptions,” said Sargent in a statement. “This achievement definitely means a lot to me. It’s a goal that I’ve had set for a while, and it gives me a lot of confidence now that I’ve achieved it. I’m really honored to be receiving the medal.”

Sargent became the first amateur since Aaron Baddeley in 2000 to accept a special invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament, doing so last April. He then finished as the low amateur (T-39) at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in June. The native of Birmingham, Alabama, will represent the United States in both the Walker Cup next week and the World Amateur Team Championship in October.

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Where does Oklahoma rank in most popular football teams compared to the future SEC?

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners rank in popularity compared to their future SEC foes ahead of the 2023 football season?

The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns moving to the SEC is going to be huge on the field, but it’s also a big boon for the conference and its media rights holder, ESPN.

With the move to the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma bring two of the more popular football programs in the country. That’s why this move made so much sense for the SEC as well as the schools.

With SEC media days serving as a prologue to Oklahoma and Texas’ inclusion in the conference starting in 2024, let’s take a look at how the SEC stacks up among the most popular football programs in the country according to marketing research firm SBRNet and analyzed by Al.com.

Previewing day 2 of the 2023 SEC media days

Previewing day 2 of the 2023 SEC media days from Nashville!

Day one of the 2023 SEC media days has been completed and we now move on to day two from the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee.

Day one saw LSU, Texas A&M, and Missouri take the stage, and day two will be another fun-filled event with Vanderbilt, Georiga, Auburn, and Mississippi State stepping up to the podium.

Storylines will not be an issue on Tuesday with Kirby Smart and the back-to-back national champions in town. Also, Hugh Freeze will make his SEC media days debut as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Zach Arnett will make his way to the podium as the leader of the Bulldogs following the sudden passing of Mike Leach and the end of 2022. Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea is fresh off an extension and has the Commodore fanbase hopeful for the future.

Let’s take a look at today’s lineup and what we can expect from each team!

Vanderbilt and head football coach Clark Lea agree to contract extension

Vanderbilt has locked down head football coach Clark Lea for the forseeable future with a contract extension the two sides announced on Monday.

Vanderbilt and head football coach Clark Lea have agreed to a contract extension, the university announced on Monday afternoon.

The extension comes before Lea’s third year with the program. After going 2-10 in his first year in Nashville, the Commodores rebounded for a 5-7 record in 2022. It was the program’s first season of five or more wins since 2018, including key wins in November over Kentucky and Florida.

The program, which went 3-18 in its final two years under former head coach Derek Mason has shown vast improvements under Lea in just a short period.

While Vanderbilt did not disclose the contract terms, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the extension will keep the former Commodore fullback with the program through 2029.

Before his time with Vanderbilt, Lea spent time across the college football landscape, stopping at UCLA, South Dakota State, Bowling Green, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame along the way. Lea served as the Fighting Irish’s linebacker coach for four seasons while also serving three of those seasons as their defensive coordinator under head coach Brian Kelly.

Vanderbilt and Lea will get their 2023 season started on August 26 as the Commodores host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Their remaining non-conference schedule includes Alabama A&M and trips to Wake Forest and UNLV before diving into their SEC schedule starting September 23 against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Jackson Van Paris shoots course record at Pinehurst No. 4 in 2023 North & South Amateur

It’s safe to say Jackson Van Paris knows his way around Pinehurst.

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It’s safe to say Jackson Van Paris knows his way around Pinehurst. The golf haven in North Carolina is his hometown. It’s also where he now has a course record.

Van Paris, a junior at Vanderbilt, shot a 9-under 61 at Pinehurst No. 4 on Tuesday in the opening round of the 2023 North & South Amateur, setting a new course record by two shots. He carded nine birdies and no bogeys to take a two-shot lead after the first of two rounds of stroke play.

“When you’re out there and playing a good round of golf, you’re trying not to think about it,” Van Paris said. “You’re trying to take it one shot, one hole at a time. But it’s about as good as it gets. It was a great day.”

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Not even two weeks ago, Van Paris shot a 61 in the Sunnehanna Amateur, which he went on to win.

The championship moves on to its second day of stroke play on Wednesday. The top 32 seeds will advance to match play, which begins on Thursday. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Vanderbilt’s Jackson Van Paris takes home 2023 Sunnehanna Amateur title

The Sunnehanna Amateur is the first of seven men’s events that are a part of the Elite Amateur Series.

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Jackson Van Paris wasn’t an integral part of the Vanderbilt lineup last season, and that’s not necessarily his fault.

He was a talented sophomore stuck battling with one of the deepest lineups in college golf. He teed it up in only five tournaments, his best finish coming at the John Hayt Invitational at T-6.

Heading into his junior season, he has made a case he could be a big factor for the Commodores.

Van Paris won the 82nd Sunnehanna Amateur on Saturday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He shot 13-under 267, beating Ohio State’s Neal Shipley by one shot for the title. Van Paris won in big part thanks to his 9-under 61 in the second round, where he took the lead and never looked back.

Even with a bogey on his final hole, Van Paris shot 3-under 67 on Saturday to claim the title. Shipley started the final round two shots behind, carding a 4-under 66 on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to catch Van Paris.

Sebastian Moss of Louisville shot 7 under in the final round to move into solo third at 11-under 269. Luke Clanton, Herman Senke and William Moll tied for fourth at 10 under.

The Sunnehanna Amateur is the first of seven men’s events that are a part of the Elite Amateur Series. Up next is the Northeast Amateur from June 19-24 at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island.

Why amateur Gordon Sargent has a pivotal weekend ahead at 2023 U.S. Open

There’s a chance Gordon Sargent could be on the doorstep of securing a PGA Tour card.

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Gordon Sargent has a big weekend ahead of him in Los Angeles.

There’s a chance he could be on the doorstep of securing a PGA Tour card.

Sargent, the top-ranked amateur in the world who’s set to begin his junior season at Vanderbilt in the fall, is sitting at 16 points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated standings. He has earned two points this week, one for making a start in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club and another Friday after making the cut, moving closer to the 20-point threshold.

If Sargent gets to 20 points by the end of his junior year, he will earn PGA Tour membership. And there’s a chance he could do that before officially hitting a shot representing the Commodores this fall.

Sargent sits at even-par 140 after two rounds of the U.S. Open, tied for 30th. If he were to place in the top 20 come Sunday night, he would earn two more points. Then he’s only two points away, but barring something unforeseen, Sargent will earn those two points later this summer representing the United States on the 2023 Walker Cup team.

PGA Tour U Accelerated was created so high-achieving juniors, sophomores or freshmen could earn PGA Tour membership and become eligible for all open, full-field Tour events. Last month, Ludvig Aberg became the first golfer to earn a PGA Tour card through PGA Tour U, making his professional debut last week at the RBC Canadian Open.

And Sargent, the 2022 NCAA individual champion, is well on his way to becoming the first to earn a Tour card because of Accelerated.

Even if he didn’t finish in the top 20 this weekend, he could earn the remaining four points in numerous ways. He’s essentially a lock to make the Walker Cup team, so that leaves two points left to earn PGA Tour membership.

He could earn a point representing the U.S. in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship, set for Oct. 18–21 in Abu Dhabi. He was a member of the team last year in France. There’s also three points available at the U.S. Amateur and two at the Western Amateur. Additionally, if he were to make a start in another major, that’s one point. Make the cut in a major or a PGA Tour event, another point.

And he’s going to tee it up in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in two weeks in Detroit, meaning he could get two points for making the cut and a top-10 finish.

It seems unlikely that Sargent wouldn’t get to 20 points before the end of his junior season. Nevertheless, it’s a big weekend for him chasing a PGA Tour card.

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Stanford’s Rose Zhang, Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent win Golfweek’s 2022-23 Player of the Year honors

Check out Golfweek’s college golf Players of the Year.

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The 2022-23 college golf season is complete, which means it’s time to continue handing out postseason awards.

A pair of veteran teams took home the trophies from Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the championships were contested for a third and final time of a three-year deal. In the individual competitions, there were big come-from-behind victories on both sides, as well, including from one of the best college golfers in history.

However, when it comes to the Player of the Year conversation, there are two who played their way to the top, and they’ve been selected as the Golfweek 2022-23 Players of the Year.

Golfweek selects men’s and women’s All-America teams and honorable mention selections, as well as Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year.

College: Golfweek’s 2022-23 Coaches of the Year

Here’s a look at Golfweek‘s 2022-23 Players of the Year and a look at past winners.

Photo Gallery: Oregon comes home as Nashville Regional champs

Photo Gallery: Oregon upset No. 6 Vanderbilt and then defeated Xavier to win the Nashville Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament.

The college baseball season has been one wild ride and the Oregon Ducks made sure that ride continued by winning the Nashville Regional.

Oregon defeated Xavier, upset No. 6 Vanderbilt, and then Xavier again to move on to the Super Regional where the Ducks will host Oral Roberts this weekend at PK Park.

The Ducks put everything on display with home runs, clutch hitting, spectacular game-saving defensive play, and some gutsy pitching performances to win the regional.

There were even a couple of lightning strikes during the Vanderbilt-Xavier game Sunday afternoon. But it seems has if Oregon channeled the lightning in order to win and they hope it strikes twice at PK Park to move on to the College World Series in Omaha.