A view of the famous Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews | Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
The Vanderbilt Commodores once again exerted their dominance on collegiate golf, this time at St Andrews in Scotland.
The Vanderbilt Men’s Golf team dominated once again.
This time, the Commodores took home the inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate Championship at the Home of Golf in Scotland.
Vanderbilt defeated North Carolina in the final team play medal match, 4.5-to-1.5.
“I’m super proud of our boys; they wanted to finish this tournament the right way, and they did, so I’m super happy for them,” said Scott Limbaugh, the head coach of the Vanderbilt men’s golf team.
“I think we created memories that will last a lifetime, that we’ll tell our children and our grandchildren about, and they’ll do the same, so it’s just amazing.”
Ben Loomis, a sophomore from New Canaan, Connecticut, grabbed the first point for the Commodores on Wednesday. He carded a 5-over 77 in cold and blustery conditions, while his playing competitor, Hampton Roberts, shot a 6-over 78 for the Tar Heels.
Unlike the Ryder Cup, the St. Andrews Collegiate is medal stroke play, meaning whoever shoots the lowest score over 18 holes—not who wins the most holes—secures the point. Should the players tie, the teams receive a half-point each.
The second match of the day featured Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, North Carolina against Dylan Menante of Carlsbad, California. Both players shot 3-over 75s, as each golfer secured a half-point for their team.
Menante needed to make a 10-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to tie Van Paris, who won the 36-hole individual portion of the St. Andrews Collegiate.
After that halved match, Vanderbilt went on to win three of the final four matches.
Wells Williams made a birdie on the 18th to win his match by one stroke over Austin Greaser, who helped the U.S. win the Walker Cup at St. Andrews earlier this year. That birdie putt secured the team title for the Commodores.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, North Carolina defeated Vanderbilt by a score of 4-to-2.
“It’s special to be [here for] the first time this tournament is here, and to be at the ‘home of golf.’ It just means a lot as a golfer,” said Aimee Neff, the head coach of the women’s golf team at North Carolina.
“You couldn’t ask for a better place for this to happen. Obviously, we were just proud of the way the team fought and continued to play hard, and to have a couple of our freshmen pick up a few wins today was great.”
The low round of the day for the Tar Heels came from Ing Iadpluem, a freshman from Thailand. She shot a 4-under 68 while defeating her opponent by 15 strokes.
No other Tar Heel broke par on Wednesday, as North Carolina won the final three matches to clinch the victory.
The men’s and women’s golf teams from Notre Dame and Georgetown also participated in this four-team event, with the two Catholic institutions squaring off in the consolation matches on Wednesday.
The Fighting Irish prevailed on the men’s side, while the Hoyas won in the women’s match.
“It’s Heaven. For us to be here today, it’s just magical,” said Georgetown men’s coach Tommy Hunter, despite finishing in fourth place.
“For us to come in and play the Old Course, play the Jubilee Course, and be a part of this amazing inter-collegiate event, it will be a lifetime memory for these guys. I’m so grateful.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
