Sherwood helps No. 1 Vanderbilt edge Georgia Tech by a shot to take team title in Watersound Invitational

   Vanderbilt entered this week’s Watersound Invitational at No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings and claimed its third straight team title, but Georgia Tech made the Commodores work for it.

   Reigning Southeastern Conference champion Vanderbilt has been on a epic roll dating back to February of last year. The victory in the Watersound was its 10^th team crown in that time frame, including wins in the SEC Championship and the NCAA Palm Beach Regional last spring and in the East Lake Cup that punctuated the fall portion of the wraparound 2022-2023 season.

   The Commodores reached the semifinals of last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. before falling to eventual national champion Texas. The goals for this spring is obvious: Get back to Grayhawk, get into the match-play bracket and win two more matches.

   Georgia Tech, the runnerup to Wake Forest in last spring’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, staged a furious rally in Tuesday’s final round of the Watersound at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla.

   But Vanderbilt’s Cole Sherwood, a junior from Austin, Texas and No. 9 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), drained a 25-foot putt for an eagle on the 17^th hole and converted another 25-footer, this one for par, at the last to help the Commodores hold on for a dramatic one-shot victory over Georgia Tech.

   Vanderbilt had taken an eight-shot lead over the Yellow Jackets into Tuesday’s final round, but Georgia Tech, behind a scintillating 9-under 63 over the 7,246-yard, par-72 Shark’s Tooth layout by Ross Steelman, a senior from Columbia, Mo. and No. 23 in the WAGR, put together a remarkable 21-under 267 to finish with a 37-under 827 total.

   Georgia Tech improved from No. 12 to No. 8 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Watersound.

   Sherwood’s heroics enabled Vanderbilt to finish with a 14-under 274 that gave the Commodores a 38-under 826 total.

   Vanderbilt had opened with a 9-under 279 and added its best round of the tournament, a 15-under 273, in Monday’s second round.

   Vanderbilt was led by reigning NCAA individual champion Gordon Sargent, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala. who recently ascended to No. 1 in the WAGR. After opening with a 71, Sargent ripped off rounds of 6-under 66 and 7-under 65 to finish in a tie for second place in the individual standings with Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, a junior from South Africa and No. 24 in the WAGR, each landing on 13-under 203.

The individual crown went to Florida State’s Frederik Kjettrup, a junior from Denmark and No. 40 in the WAGR whose final round of 7-under 65 gave him an 18-under 198 total that was five shots clear of Sargent and Lamprecht.

   Kjettrup had opened with a 6-under 66 and added a 67 in Monday’s second round. His 18-under total was one better than the program record of 17-under that had been established by Carl DiCesare in 19 and 67, 56 years ago.

   Georgia Tech had matched Vanderbilt’s opening-round 279 and added a 7-under 281 in Monday’s second round to set the stage for its final-round fireworks.

   It wasn’t a bad 2021-’22 season for Georgia Tech, but they have pretty high standards at the alma mater of Bobby Jones. The Yellow Jackets shared team honors with Oklahoma State as a two seed in the Columbus Regional, but never got in contention for a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   Lambprecht opened with a 69 before adding a sizzling 7-under 65 in Monday’s second and finishing up with another 69 to get his share of second place with Sargent at 13-under.

   Florida State, one of Georgia Tech’s ACC rivals, was another 13 shots behind the Yellow Jackets in third place with a 24-under 840 total.

   The Seminoles, riding the hot hand of Kjettrup, added a 7-under 281 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 284 before closing with a 13-under 275 total. Its showing at Shark’s Tooth, which hosted the ACC Championship last spring, enabled Florida State to move up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 11 to No. 10.

   Florida State was the runnerup to Vanderbilt in last spring’s Palm Beach Regional, but never really got it going in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   Alabama, an SEC rival of Vanderbilt’s, finished a shot behind Florida State in fourth place with a 23-under 841 total as the Crimson Tide closed with a solid 14-under 284 total. Alabama, ranked 17^th before and after the Watersound, had opened with a 6-under 282 before adding a 285 in Monday’s second round.

   It was another 16 shots back to another SEC entry, Mississippi State, in fifth place with a 7-under 857 total.

   The Bulldogs, who moved up two spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 24 to No. 22 following the Watersound, bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 290 with a 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 4-under 284.

   Another ACC entry, Notre Dame, and perennial Big 12 power Oklahoma State finished three shots behind Mississippi State in a tie for sixth place in the 11-team field, each landing on 4-under 860.

   The Fighting Irish, who moved up three spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 36 to No. 33 following the Watersound, matched par in Monday’s second round with a 288 after opening with a 289 and closed with their best round of the tournament, a 5-under 283.

   Oklahoma State has been a national championship contender for the last few years, falling to Big 12 rival Texas, 3-2, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship last spring at Grayhawk. The Cowboys dropped two spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 16 to No. 18 in the aftermath of the Watersound. Maybe it’s a rebuilding year in Stillwater, but ignore the Cowboys at your peril

   Oklahoma State struggled a little in the first two rounds at Shark’s Tooth, adding a 1-over 289 in Monday’s second round to its opening-round 292, but the Cowboys got it going in Tuesday’s final round with a 9-under 279.

   Sherwood’s clutch finish gave Vanderbilt two finishers among the top four as he ended up in a tie for fourth place with Florida State’s Michael Mays, a sophomore from Winter Park, Fla. who was competing as an individual, each landing on 12-under 204, a shot behind Sargent and Lamprecht.

   Sherwood had opened with a 5-under 67 and added a 68 in Monday’s second round before converting those two huge putts to close out a 3-under 69.

   Matthew Riedel, a senior from Houston, finished alone in eighth place for Vanderbilt as he added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 70 before closing with a clutch 4-under 68.

   Vanderbilt’s veteran head coach, Scott Limbaugh, got a chance to see a couple of his younger guys compete under pressure and he couldn’t have been all that disappointed.

   Wells Williams, a freshman from West Point, Miss., finished in the group tied for 14^th place with a 4-under 212 total as he sandwiched a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   Jackson Von Paris, a sophomore from Pinehurst, N.C., opened with a 1-under 71 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before he closed with a 3-over 75 to finish among the group tied for 34^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Reid Davenport, a fifth-year player from Austin, Texas and No. 34 in the WAGR, competed as an individual and the veteran Commodore finished in the group tied for 18^th place with a 3-under 213 total. Davenport matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a solid 4-under 68.

   Sargent, Sherwood and Davenport were all in the starting lineup for Vanderbilt in its semifinal loss to Texas at Grayhawk last spring.

   Florida State’s Mays probably earned himself some consideration for a spot in the starting lineup for the Seminoles in their next outing as he opened with a 5-under 67, added a 68 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 69 to join Sherwood in the tie for fourth place at 12-under.

   Alabama was led by Thomas Ponder, a senior from Dothan, Ala. who finished a shot behind Sherwood and Mays in sixth place with an 11-under 205 total. Ponder, who represented the Crimson Tide as an individual in the NCAA Bryan Regional last spring, sandwiched a 71 in Monday’s second round with a pair of sparkling 5-under 67s.

   The brilliant closing 63 fired by Georgia Tech’s Steelman left him a shot behind Ponder in seventh place with a 10-under 206 total. Steelman had opened with a 1-under 71 before matching par in Monday’s second round with a 72.

   Two of Ponder’s teammates, Canon Claycomb, a senior from Bowling Green, Ky. and No. 65 in the WAGR, and Nick Dunlap, the freshman phenom from Huntsville, Ala. and No. 64 in the WAGR, headed a group of four players tied for ninth place at 7-under 209, two shots behind Vanderbilt’s Riedel, who was alone in eighth.

   Claycomb, who joined Ponder representing Alabama as an individual in the Bryan Regional last spring, matched par in the opening round with a 72 and then came on strong with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round and a closing 68.

   Dunlap, winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 at the Country Club of North Carolina and a semifinalist in the same event last summer at Bandon Dunes, sandwiched a 71 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 3-under 69s.

It would seem unlikely that Alabama would be left out of the dance when the team berths to the NCAA Regional are announced this spring.

   Hiroshi Tai, a freshman from Singapore, gave Georgia Tech a third finisher inside the top 10 as he joined the quartet at 7-under. After opening with a 68, Tai struggled a little in Monday’s second round with a 2-over 74 before bouncing back with a solid 4-under 68 in the final round.

   Rounding out the foursome at 7-under was Florida State’s Brett Roberts, the individual champion in last spring’s Palm Beach Regional. Roberts was just two shots behind his teammate Kjettrup going into the final round after he added a 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 68 before falling back in the final round with a 2-over 74.

   Notre Dame senior Palmer Jackson, winner of the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Franklin Regional in 2018, sandwiched a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 2-under 70s as he finished in the group tied for 18^th place with a 3-under 213 total.

   Jackson, No. 44 in the WAGR, was part of a group that included Vanderbilt’s Sargent and Sherwood and Georgia Tech’s Steelman that participated in a practice session at golf courses in the Jupiter, Fla. area in December for candidates for the U.S. team that will compete in the Walker Cup Match in September at the Old Course at St. Andrews, you know the Home of Golf, the Road Hole, the Swilcan Bridge and all that.

   Notre Dame freshman Calen Sanderson, the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, competed as an individual and finished in a tie for 57^th place with a 12-over 228 total. Sanderson was consistent, recording three straight 4-over 76s.