Courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics
Vanderbilt freshman Wells Williams led the team for second straight day with a 4-under-par 67 as the Commodores defended their title at the Cabo Collegiate at 18-under-par 834, 12 strokes better than Ole Miss.
“We had a great plan and it’s a course you have to stay patient on, especially with these pins when you hit it a few feet by, and you are 25 yards off the green,” Williams said. “We had a really good strategy and we executed it pretty well and made some putts along the way.”
Williams, from West Point, Miss., also claimed the individual title at 10-under-par 203 (71-65-67) by five strokes over Arizona senior Chase Sienkiewicz, Florida State junior Fredrik Kjettrup and Ole Miss senior Brett Schell, who shot the low-round of the tournament in Round 3, a 7-under-par 64.
“That’s probably the best we’ve played as a group all year,” said Vanderbilt coach Scott Limbaugh. “Just to see Wells step up like that. It’s really cool. Six weeks ago, he never played for us, ever and here he is winning the biggest tournament of the spring.”
Williams followed his bogey-free, second-round 6-under 65 with a 67 that included five birdies and one bogey.
“I came in hitting the ball pretty well,” Williams said. “I had a ‘whatever happens, happens’ mentality. I tried not to play in fear this week.”
The top-ranked Commodores, who led after Rounds 1 and 2, are also the first back-to-back winners since three-time champion Oklahoma State finished first in 2018 and 2019.
The Commodores have now won four consecutive tournaments after taking the top spot at the East Lake Cup, the John Hayt Invitational and the Watersound Invitational in their last three starts dating to the fall of 2022. The 2022-23 Dores are also the first team in program history to win five tournament championships with a victory at the three-day event in Mexico.
Sophomore Gordon Sargent, the 2022 NCAA individual champion, and senior Reid Davenport contributed even-par 71s and 2022 Cabo Collegiate medalist Cole Sherwood added a 1-over 73.
Ole Miss finished at 6-under (846) with Arizona State in third at 851, Texas Tech in fourth at 854 and Florida State in fifth at 860.
In addition to Schell’s 64, the Rebels posted a 69 from freshman Cameron Tankersley and a 71 from senior Hugo Townsend.
by Pete Kowalski, Special to AmateurGolf.com
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