Phillips leads the way as Georgia holds off Vanderbilt to claim title in Linger Longer Invitational

    In a battle of perennial Southeastern Conference powers, Georgia held on for a four-shot victory over Vanderbilt in the Linger Longer Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Great Waters Golf Course in Eatonton, Ga.

   The Bulldogs, No. 10 in the latest Golfstat rankings, and the No. 6 Commodores entered Tuesday’s final round tied for the lead.

   Back and forth they went all day until Georgia’s Trent Phillips, a senior from Inman, S.C. and No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), drained a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 finishing hole to complete a 6-under-par 66 over the 7,436-yard, par-72 Great Waters layout that gave the Bulldogs a little breathing room.

   Phillips’ sizzling final round gave him a runnerup finish in the individual standings, six shots behind fellow Inman, S.C. guy, Jacob Bridgeman, a senior at Clemson and No. 26 in the WAGR. More importantly, Phillips led Georgia to a final round of 8-under 280 and a 54-hole total of 28-under 836.

   It was the 67^th career tournament victory for legendary Georgia head coach Chris Haack.

   Georgia and Vanderbilt both reached the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. last spring, the Bulldogs advancing as the runnerup as a No. 2 seed out of the Tallahassee Regional and the Commodores, after claiming the SEC Championship at the Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course on St. Simons Island, Ga., winning the Kingston Springs Regional as a No. 3 seed.

   Georgia, however, never really contended for a spot in the match-play bracket at Grayhawk. Vanderbilt was the only SEC team that did earn a spot in the match-play bracket before being taken out by Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals.

   In this week’s Linger Longer, both appeared eminently capable of making a return trip to Grayhawk for this spring’s NCAA Championship.

   Georgia opened with an 8-under 280 and added a 12-under 276, the low team round of the week, in Monday’s second round before closing with another 280 to end up at 28-under 836.

   Vanderbilt grabbed the lead at the end of Sunday’s opening round with a 9-under 279 before adding an 11-under 277 in Monday’s second round to join Georgia atop the team leaderboard at 20-under. A final round of 4-under 284 left the Commodores four shots behind the Bulldogs in second place with a 24-under 840 total.

   Yet another SEC entry, No. 19 Florida, was 10 shots behind Vanderbilt in third place with a 14-under 850 total. The Gators added an 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 284 before closing with a 2-under 286.

   Florida made it to Grayhawk last spring with a fifth-place finish as a three seed in the Cle Elum Regional, but, much like Georgia, couldn’t gain any traction in the NCAA Championship.

   Reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson, behind Bridgeman, the individual winner of the Linger Longer, was two shots behind Florida in fourth place with a 12-under 852 total. After starting slowly with a 4-over 292, the 22^nd-ranked Tigers ripped off an 11-under 277 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 5-under 283. Clemson was coming off an impressive 16-shot victory in the Wake Forest Invitational.

   Clemson reached the NCAA Championship last spring by finishing in a tie for fourth place in the Kingston Springs Regional as the top seed, but failed to reach the match-play bracket at Grayhawk.

   Conference USA representative Charlotte, ranked 42^nd, closed with a solid 7-under 281 to finish a shot behind Clemson in fifth place with an 11-under 853 total. The 49ers had opened with a 1-over 289 before adding a 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round.

   Clemson’s ACC rival, No. 4 North Carolina, was 12 shots behind Charlotte in sixth place in the 15-team field with a 1-over 865 total as the Tar Heels sandwiched a 293 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 2-under 286s.

   North Carolina was one of two ACC teams that earned spots among the final eight teams still standing for match play in the NCAA Championship last spring and the Tar Heels advanced to Grayhawk by finishing in a tie for second place in the Noblesville Regional as a four seed. North Carolina fell to Arizona State in the quarterfinals.

   Phillips was solid all week in leading the way for Georgia as he opened with a 71 and added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round before his closing 66 left him with a 10-under 206 total, six shots behind Bridgeman in second place in the individual chase.

   Right behind Phillips in third place in the individual standings was teammate Ben Van Wyk, a junior from South Africa who finished alone in third place with an 8-under 208 total. Van Wyk, who transferred to Georgia from Augusta prior to the start of this season, opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 and contributed a 3-under 69 to the Bulldogs’ sizzling second-round team showing Monday before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Maxwell Ford, a freshman from Peachtree Corners, Ga., gave Georgia a third finisher among the top four as he was part of a trio that tied for fourth place with a 7-under 209 total. Maxwell Ford was the low Bulldog in that strong second-round showing Monday with a 4-under 68 after he had opened with a 2-under 70. He closed with a 71.

   Maxwell Ford is a triplet, along with sister Abigail and brother David, a freshman for North Carolina and No. 28 in the WAGR. Maxwell Ford got bragging rights with his sibling in the Linger Longer as David Ford finished among the group tied for 19^th place with a 2-under 214 total.

   Another of Maxwell Ford’s Georgia teammates, Nic Cassidy, a junior from Johns Creek, Ga., was also in that group tied for 19^th place at 2-under as he sandwiched a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Rounding out the Georgia lineup was Buck Brumlow, a freshman from Cartersville, Ga. who finished in the group tied for 53^rd place at 9-over 225. Brumlow struggled in the opening round with an 83 before righting the ship with back-to-back 1-under 71s. That final-round 71 was a crucial counter with Vanderbilt breathing down Georgia’s neck.

   Eli Scott, a senior from Hartwell, Ga., headed a group of four Bulldogs who competed as individuals as he finished alone in 24^th place with an even-par 216 total. Scott sandwiched a 74 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   Haack has an interesting group as he has some senior leadership, particularly from Phillips, to go along with some clearly talented youngsters.

   Nobody has ever questioned the talent of Clemson’s Bridgeman, who made a run to the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at one of the toughest tests in America, Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh.

   All that talent was on display at Great Waters this week as Bridgeman opened with a 67, then did that one better with a sizzling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round that gave him a three-shot lead over Van Wyk and Vanderbilt’s Cole Sherwood, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, heading into the final round.

   Bridgeman shut the door with another 5-under 67 that gave him a spectacular 16-under 200 and a six-shot victory over Phillips. Bridgeman became the first player in program history to post three rounds of 67 or better on a par-72 course.

   Vanderbilt’s Sherwood and teammate Gordon Sargent, a freshman from Birmingham, Ala., joined Georgia’s Maxwell Ford in the trio tied for fourth place at 7-under 209.

   Sherwood fired back-to-back 4-under 68s in the first two rounds to get within three shots of Bridgeman going into Tuesday’s final round before cooling off a little with a closing 1-over 73. After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Sargent registered a 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Florida’s Fred Biondi, a redshirt junior from Brazil, and Charlotte’s Ben Woodruff, a junior from Huntersville, N.C., finished in a tie seventh place, each landing on 6-under 210.

   Biondi got off to a fast start with a 5-under 67 in the opening round before adding a 71 in Monday’s second round and matching par in the final round with a 72. Woodruff was only four shots behind the pace-setting Bridgeman after adding a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 69 before backing off with a 1-over 73 in the final round.

   Reid Davenport, a senior from Austin, Texas and No. 86 in the WAGR, gave Vanderbilt a third finisher inside the top 10 as he headed a group of four players tied for ninth place at 5-under 211. Davenport, the Commodores’ lone winner in their 4-1 loss to Oklahoma State in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals last spring, opened with a 70, matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 and closed with a solid 3-under 69.

   South Florida’s Albin Bergstrom, a junior from Sweden and No. 50 in the WAGR, was also in the foursome tied for ninth place. Bergstrom, winner of The American Championship last spring at the Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla., matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-under 69 before finishing up with a 70.

   Rounding out the quartet tied for ninth place at 5-under were Alabama’s Thomas Ponder, a junior from Dothan, Ala., and Biondi’s Florida teammate, Yuxin Lin, a junior from China and No. 46 in the WAGR.

   Ponder got off a slow start with a 74 in the opening round, but got it going with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 69. Lin sandwiched a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.