Our amazing freshman and our amazing Vanderbilt Men’s Golf team did it again.

Gordon Sargent won the individual national championship with a birdie on the first playoff hole, No.18, from 4 feet to outlast 3 other players and become the first freshman since 2007 to win the individual national championship. Jamie Lovemark of USC, and a winner on the Web.com Tour, won the individual national championship in 2007. Phil “Saudi League traitor” Mickelson won it in 1989, Curtis Strange won it in 1974 and Ben Crenshaw won it in 1971. Crenshaw won 2 Masters in 1984 and ’95, Strange won back to back U.S. Opens in 1988 and 1989, and Mickelson won the 2004, 2007 and 2010 Masters, the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol in New York, the 2013 Open Championship at Murifield Golf Club in Scotland, and the 2021 PGA Championship at 50 years old at Kiawah Island, S.C. So our stud freshman is in some heady company. He’s got quite a future.

Also, as importantly, and, if you talk to Gordon, even moreso, we won the team stroke play competition at +14. We shot +9 today, but outlasted Oklahoma and North Carolina, which also finished +14, but we won with better scorecards for the 4 rounds. We are the No.1 seed and play No.8 Texas Tech tomorrow with coverage on the Golf Channel beginning at 11 AM CT. Will absolutely keep you apprised. William Moll sank a critical 14 foot putt for par on 18 to keep us in it, and Gordon parred 18 and Oklahoma bogeyed 18. Just seems big to be the No.1 seed. There’s a lot to like about this team. Coach Limbaugh has a winning machine this season. There are no guarantees though and we have our work cut out for us tomorrow. No.2 Oklahoma plays No.7 Arizona State, No.3 North Carolina plays No.6 Pepperdine, and No.4 Texas plays No.5 Oklahoma State.

Will keep you up to date on our stellar group. Very proud of Gordon, our Birmingham native, who played at Mountain Brook High School. Also, proud of William Moll, Cole Sherwood, Reid Davenport, Harrison Ott and Jackson Van Paris. What a job Coach Limbaugh and assistant coach Gator Todd are doing. A lot of work left for us though. Can’t wait to see us compete on Tuesday.

Vanderbilt Baseball squares off with San Diego on Friday at 3 PM CT on ESPNU at the Corvallis Regional, the Oregon State Regional. Oregon State is the No.4 overall national seed and the 1 seed in this regional. We are No.2, San Diego is No.3, and New Mexico State is No.4. San Diego is 36-18 and won the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship and defeated Gonzaga to do it. Gonzaga is a No.2 seed in the Blacksburg Regional, the No.2 overall seed Virginia Tech regional, and swept a 3 game series at No.9 overall seed Oklahoma State at Stillwater in March. We lost 2 of 3 to OK. State the first series of the season. So, we have our work cut out for us with the Toreros They took 3 of 4 from Oregon earlier this season and took 2 of 3 from a solid and NCAA Tournament Dallas Baptist team. Like having Carter Holton on the hill in Game 1, but they hit .290 as a team, so Carter will have to bear down. We’ll have to play a lot better in all 3 phases of the game if we want emerge victorious Friday. The SEC Tournament was not good for us, but it’s a new season and we have the talent to make a run. We’re 36-21, Oregon State is 44-15 and New Mexico State is 24-32.

So, let’s get to work this week and on Friday.