Behind individual champion Sargent, Vanderbilt dominates at The Hayt

   Vanderbilt has long been one of the top golf programs in the country.

   But what the Commodores have been doing for the last year has been pretty special, even by their lofty standards.

   With reigning NCAA individual champion Gordon Sargent, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala. and No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), taking it really low and claiming the individual crown by seven shots, Vanderbilt rolled to a 16-shot victory over host North Florida in The Hayt, which wrapped up Monday at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

   It was the ninth tournament title since last February for Vanderbilt, which entered the midseason pause in the wraparound 2022-2023 season at No. 2 in the Golfstat rankings. Included in that stretch was the first Southeastern Conference crown for the Commodores last spring as they ran the match-play gauntlet in college golf’s deepest circuit.

   Vanderbilt claimed the team crown in the NCAA’s Palm Beach Regional last spring, ultimately falling in the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. after sharing medalist honors with Oklahoma and North Carolina in four rounds of qualifying for match play.

   It seems like forever, but it was only a little more than three months ago when Vanderbilt punctuated the fall portion of its season by winning the title in the East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, an event that brought together the four semifinalists from the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk.

   There is much left to do, but the start of the spring portion of Vanderbilt’s schedule couldn’t have been more impressive.

   After opening with a 2-under-par 286 in difficult conditions over the 6,966-yard, par-72 Sawgrass layout in the first round of Sunday’s double round, the Commodores took command with a sparkling 17-under 271 in Sunday afternoon’s second round.

   Sargent, who had opened with a 2-under 70, fueled Vanderbilt’s second-round surge with an explosive 8-under 64 that tied the course record.

   Vanderbilt closed with a 9-under 279 in Monday’s final round to finish with a 28-under 836 total.

   Sargent, whose sizzling second round featured a stretch where he went eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie from holes eight through 11, had eight birdies on his scorecard in Monday’s final round as he closed with a 5-under 67 that gave him the individual title with a 15-under 201 total.

   Sargent will miss a little of the spring season for Vanderbilt while he participates in that little gathering at Augusta National Golf Club in April known as The Masters Tournament. The Masters doesn’t send out invitations to just any amateur, but Sargent is certainly deserving off his performance over the last year or so.

   Host North Florida was the only team in the same zip code as Vanderbilt as the most underrated team in college golf closed with a 1-under 287 to earn runnerup honors with a 12-under 852 total.

   The Ospreys, No. 42 in the Golfstat rankings heading into the spring, were led by Nick Gabrelcik, a junior from Trinity, Fla. and No. 11 in the WAGR who earned runnerup honors with an 8-under 208 total, seven shots behind Sargent.

   Surprised that North Florida has the 11^th-best amateur player in the world? Don’t be. Gabrelcik has been one of the best players in college golf since he first teed it up in the fall of 2020.

   After matching par in the opening round at Sawgrass with a 72, Gabrelcik carded a sparkling 6-under 66 in Sunday afternoon’s second round that still left him four shots off Sargent’s sizzling pace. Garbrelcik closed with a 2-under 70.

   North Florida won the tough ASUN and advanced to the NCAA Championship out of the New Haven Regional last spring. Tremendous accomplishment, but kind of ho-hum at North Florida, which made it to the NCAA Championship for the third time in the last four seasons.

   The Ospreys matched par with a 288 in the opening round at Sawgrass and only trailed Vanderbilt by two shots. They added a solid 11-under 277 in Sunday afternoon’s second round, but found themselves trailing the Commodores by eight shots.

   Another ASUN entry, Florida Gulf Coast, ranked 60^th, was another 17 shots behind North Florida in third place with a 5-over 869 total.

   The Eagles, who were awarded a spot in the field for the NCAA Columbus Regional last spring, struggled in the opening round at Sawgrass with a 301, but bounced back in Sunday’s second round with an 8-under 280 before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   Vanderbilt’s SEC rival, Alabama, ranked 17^th, was a shot behind Florida Gulf Coast in fourth place with a 6-over 870 total.

   The Crimson Tide were shaking off some of the rust from the midseason pause with rounds of 6-over 294 and 5-over 293 in Sunday’s double round before finishing up with a solid 5-under 283.

   Sun Belt Conference representative Coastal Carolina, probably a little underrated at No. 111 in the Golfstat rankings, finished three shots behind Alabama with a 9-over 873 total. The Chanticleers sandwiched a 295 in Sunday’s second round with a pair of 1-over 289s.

   Central Florida, out of the American Athletic Conference, was a shot behind Coastal Carolina in sixth place in the 14-team field with a 10-over 274 total. The No. 86 Knights earned a spot in the New Haven Regional last spring.

   UCF sandwiched a solid 2-under 286 in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 6-over 294s.

   Backing up Sargent for Vanderbilt was senior Matthew Riedel, part of the Commodores’ Texas Connection from Houston and No. 71 in the WAGR. After opening with a 73, Riedel contributed a 4-under 68 to Vanderbilt’s surge in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70 that left him in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings with a 5-under 211 total.

   Scott Limbaugh, the Thomas F. Roush, M.D. and Family Men’s Golf Head Coach at Vanderbilt, gave a couple of his younger guys a chance to play in the starting lineup and Jackson Van Paris, a sophomore from Pinehurst, N.C., responded by finishing in a tie for sixth place 4-under 212 total.

   Among the starting five, Van Paris’ opening round of 3-under 69 made him low Commodore. He added a a 1-under 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Wells Williams, a freshman from West Point, Miss. making his Vanderbilt debut, finished in the group tied for 11^th place with a 2-under 214 total as he added a solid 4-under 68 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 74 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Vanderbilt lineup was Cole Sherwood, a junior from Austin, Texas and No. 9 in the WAGR who finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 1-under 215 total. After opening with a 74, Sherwood carded a solid 1-under 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Graduate student Reid Davenport, another Austin, Texas guy and No. 9 in the WAGR, competed as an individual for Vanderbilt and finished in the group tied for eighth place at 3-under 213. Davenport was Sargent’s closer pursuer for individual honors going into the final round after he registered a 4-under 68 and a 3-under 69 in Sunday’s double round, but fell back a little with a 76 in Monday’s final round.

   Senior William Moll, another Houstonian and No. 93 in the WAGR, also competed as an individual for Vanderbilt and finished in the group tied for 38^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Moll added a 3-over 75 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 73 before closing with a 74.

   Sargent, Davenport, Sherwood and Moll were all in the starting lineup for the Commodores in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   Sargent and Sherwood were joined by North Florida’s Gabrelcik in an audition at courses in the Jupiter, Fla. neighborhood in mid-December for candidates for the team that will represent the United States in the Walker Cup Match at the Old Course at St. Andrews this summer.

   Florida Gulf Coast’s Austin Cherichella, a junior from Orlando, Fla., carded his second straight 3-under 69 in the final round to finish a shot behind Gabrelcik in third place in the individual standings with a 7-under 209 total. Cherichella opened with a 1-under 71.

   Joining Vanderbilt’s Riedel in the tie for fourth place, two shots behind Cherichella at 5-under 211, was North Florida’s Robbie Higgins, a junior from Bradenton, Fla. After opening with a 71, Higgins added a pair of 2-under 70s.

   Joining Vanderbilt’s Van Paris in the tie for sixth place at 4-under 212 was Arkansas’ Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, a senior from Argentina and No. 26 in the WAGR. Fernandez de Oliveira sandwiched a 4-under 68 in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Joining Vanderbilt’s Davenport in the trio tied for eighth place at 3-under 213 were North Florida’s Justin Ross, a redshirt freshman from Boca Raton, Fla. who was competing as an individual, and Jacksonville State’s Erik Jansson, a junior from Sweden.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Ross added a 1-under 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 70. After opening with a 73, Jansson bounced back with a 3-under 69 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 71.

   Almost missed him, but an interesting name popped up in the results as Harrisburg’s Garrett Engle, a sophomore at Chattanooga, finished in the group tied for 41^st place with a 7-over 223 total.

   Engle, who finished in a tie for fourth place as a 15-year-old in the 2918 Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, never really participated in the Pennsylvania scholastic postseason while at Central Dauphin. He was at Oklahoma last season, but couldn’t crack the lineup of a team that was ranked No. 1 for much of the 2021-’22 season, losing to Arizona State in the NCAA semifinals at Grayhawk.

   Engle opened with a 1-over 73 at Sawgrass and added a 76 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 74.

   The Moccasins, playing out of the Southern Conference and ranked 64^th, finished four shots behind UCF in seventh place in the team standings with a 14-over 878 total.