FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 30th, 2017
ROBYNN REE (USC) AND WILL GORDON (VANDERBILT) WIN INDIVIDUAL STROKE PLAY AT 2017 EAST LAKE CUP
Stanford (Women), Vanderbilt (Men) Claim No. 1 Seeds for Team Match Play Semifinals (Tuesday, 3-6 P.M. ET on Golf Channel)
Women’s Semifinals: (1) Stanford vs. (4) Arizona State; (2) USC vs. (3) Northwestern
Men’s Semifinals: (1) Vanderbilt vs. (4) Oregon; (2) Oklahoma vs. (3) Illinois
Tuesday’s Semifinals Matches All Rematches from the 2017 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf National Championships
ATLANTA, Oct. 30, 2017 – Will Gordon (Vanderbilt University, junior) and Robynn Ree (USC, junior) claimed individual stroke play honors on Day 1 of the 2nd annual East Lake Cup presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Gordon carded an even-par 72 to take the men’s individual championship by one stroke over three players. Ree turned in a 2-under par 70 to take the women’s individual championship honors by one shot over four players.
“I was just trying to play my game today,” said Ree. “I kind of struggled before coming here because my putting wasn’t working as well as I wanted to at Q-School. Before I got here I was really overthinking my game. So, I just tried to keep my mind at peace, focus on my game and have fun.”
“I got off to a really good start, and drove the ball really well on the front nine,” said Gordon. It could have been better, but I’ll take it. We all feel very lucky to be able to play East Lake. It is our second year. Only four teams get to play, and we’re really lucky to be one of them. It is a tough golf course that tests our game and is a good way to end the fall.”
As a result of today’s individual stroke play competition – which determined seeding for Tuesday’s match play semifinals – all four matches will be rematches from the 2017 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf National Championships that were contested in May of this year.
Stanford’s Andrea Lee (sophomore) and Shannon Aubert (senior) each finished T2 at 1-under par, propelling Stanford to earn the No. 1 seed going into Tuesday’s match play semifinals, where they will face (No. 4) Arizona State, the reigning NCAA national champions. The other semifinal will feature (No. 2) USC vs. (No. 3) Northwestern.
On the men’s side, Vanderbilt University will enter Tuesday’s team match play semifinals as the No. 1 seed, led by junior Will Gordon’s even-par 72. The Commodores will face (No. 4) Oregon, the 2016 NCAA national champions, while (No. 2) Oklahoma will take on (No. 3) Illinois.
TUESDAY’S SEMIFINAL TEAM MATCH PLAY SCHEDULE:
Women’s: (No. 1) Stanford vs. (No. 4) Arizona State; (No. 2) USC vs. (No. 3) Northwestern
Men’s: (No. 1) Vanderbilt vs. (No. 4) Oregon; (No. 2) Oklahoma vs. (No. 3) Illinois
Golf Channel’s live coverage of Tuesday’s semifinals of team match play will air from 3-6 p.m. ET. Golf Central Pre-Game (2-3 p.m. ET) will preview each semifinal match, and provide updates on matches already in progress.
|
Time |
Tee # | Match | Division | Players |
| 11:05 AM |
1 |
Vanderbilt vs Oregon | Men’s | Will Gordon (Vanderbilt) vs Edwin Yi (Oregon) |
|
11:15 AM |
1 | USC vs Northwestern | Women’s | Alyaa Abdulghany (USC) vs Sarah Cho (Northwestern) |
|
11:25 AM |
1 | Vanderbilt vs Oregon | Men’s | Patrick Martin (Vanderbilt) vs Ryan Gronlund (Oregon) |
|
11:35 AM |
1 | USC vs Northwestern | Women’s | Robynn Ree (USC) vs Stephanie Lau (Northwestern) |
| 11:45 AM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Oregon | Men’s |
Harrison Ott (Vanderbilt) vs Norman Xiong (Oregon) |
|
11:55 AM |
1 | USC vs Northwestern | Women’s | Allisen Corpuz (USC) vs Brooke Riley (Northwestern) |
| 12:05 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Oregon | Men’s |
John Augenstein (Vanderbilt) vs Donald Kay (Oregon) |
| 12:15 AM | 1 | USC vs Northwestern | Women’s |
Muni He (USC) vs Hannah Kim (Northwestern) |
|
12:25 PM |
1 | Vanderbilt vs Oregon | Men’s | Theo Humphrey (Vanderbilt) vs Thomas Mulligan (Oregon) |
| 12:35 PM | 1 | USC vs Northwestern | Women’s |
Divya Manthena (USC) vs Janet Mao (Northwestern) |
|
12:45 PM |
1 | Oklahoma vs Illinois | Men’s | Blaine Hale (Oklahoma) vs Dylan Meyer (Illinois) |
| 12:55 PM | 1 | Stanford vs ASU | Women’s |
Madie Chou (Stanford) vs Olivia Mehaffey (ASU) |
|
1:05 PM |
1 | Oklahoma vs Illinois | Men’s | Garett Reband (Oklahoma) vs Giovanni Tadiotto (Illinois) |
| 1:15 PM | 1 | Stanford vs ASU | Women’s |
Shannon Aubert (Stanford) vs Sophia Zeeb (ASU) |
|
1:25 PM |
1 | Oklahoma vs Illinois | Men’s | Riley Casey (Oklahoma) vs Brendan O’Reilly (Illinois) |
| 1:35 PM | 1 | Stanford vs ASU | Women’s |
Andrea Lee (Stanford) vs Linnea Strom (ASU) |
|
1:45 PM |
1 | Oklahoma vs Illinois | Men’s |
Grant Hirschman (Oklahoma) vs Nick Hardy (Illinois) |
| 1:55 PM | 1 | Stanford vs ASU | Women’s |
Albane Valenzuela (Stanford) vs Roberta Liti (ASU) |
|
2:05 PM |
1 |
Oklahoma vs Illinois |
Men’s |
Brad Dalke (Oklahoma) vs Michael Feagles (Illinois) |
| 2:15 PM | 1 | Stanford vs ASU | Women’s |
Ziyi Wang (Stanford) vs Madison Kerley (ASU) |
WOMEN’S DIVISION – INDIVIDUAL STROKE PLAY RESULTS:
1st Robynn Ree (USC) (-2, 70)
T-2 Andrea Lee (Stanford) (-1, 71)
T-2 Shannon Aubert (Stanford) (-1, 71)
T-2 Janet Mao (Northwestern) (-1, 71)
T-2 Olivia Mehaffey (ASU) (-1, 71)
TEAM RESULTS (determines seeding for Tuesday’s Match Play Semifinals):
Stanford (No. 1 seed) USC (No. 2 seed)
Andrea Lee (-1, 71) Robynn Ree (-2, 70)
Shannon Aubert (-1, 71) Muni He (+1, 73)
Albane Valenzuela (+2, 74) Alyaa Abdulghany (+3, 75)
Ziyi Wang (+3, 75) Allisen Corpuz (+7, 79)
Madeline Chou (+13, 85) Divya Manthena (+11, 83)
Northwestern (No. 3 seed) Arizona State (No. 4 seed)
Janet Mao (-1, 71) Olivia Mehaffey (-1, 71)
Sarah Cho (+3, 75) Linnea Strom (+2, 74)
Hannah Kim (+4, 76) Sophia Zeeb (+4, 76)
Brooke Riley (+4, 76) Roberta Liti (+8, 80)
Stephanie Lau (+6, 78) Madison Kerley (+11, 83)
MEN’S DIVISION – INDIVIDUAL STROKE PLAY RESULTS:
1st Will Gordon (Vanderbilt) (E, 72)
T-2 Theo Humphrey (Vanderbilt) (+1, 73)
T-2 John Augenstein (Vanderbilt) (+1, 73)
T-2 Grant Hirschman (Oklahoma) (+1, 73)
T-2 Nick Hardy (Illinois) (+1, 73)
TEAM RESULTS (determines seeding for Tuesday’s Match Play Semifinals):
Vanderbilt (No. 1 seed) Oklahoma (No. 2 seed)
Will Gordon (E, 72) Grant Hirschman (+1, 73)
Theo Humphrey (+1, 73) Brad Dalke (+2, 74)
John Augenstein (+1, 73) Blaine Hale (+2, 74)
Harrison Ott (+2, 74) Garett Reband (+2, 74)
Patrick Martin (+4, 76) Riley Casey (+3, 75)
Illinois (No. 3 seed) Oregon (No. 4 seed)
Nick Hardy (+1, 73) Norman Xiong (+2, 74)
Dylan Meyer (+2, 74) Donald Kay (+6, 78)
Michael Feagles (+4, 76) Thomas Mulligan (+8, 80)
Brendan O’Reilly (+6, 78) Ryan Gronlund (+9, 81)
Giovanni Tadiotto (+8, 80) Edwin Yi (+10, 82)
Stanford’s Shannon Aubert
Did you know where you were on the last couple of holes on the leaderboard?
Shannon – I figured I wasn’t doing too bad because all of a sudden cameras were coming.
On the number one seed…
Shannon – It is really special to be the number one seed in any event. It is a really great event so to really play well as a team, with as many great teams here is special. But it is a new tournament tomorrow, so we just have to cherish it for a few hours and get back at it tomorrow.
Shannon – It is an incredible golf course. There is so much history here and to be able to play this event and this incredible golf course is an honor for all collegiate players.
USC’s Robynn Ree
Before I got here I was really overthinking my game. I usually try not to think on the course, that is how I play my best. So I just tried to keep my mind at peace and just tried to focus on my game and just have fun, honestly.
On the back nine…
I honestly didn’t know I was in contention because I thought people were going to go really low. There always is that one person who gets streaky and goes low so I wasn’t even concerned about winning, just trying to hit fairways and greens today.
Stanford coach Anne Walker
They played mature today. There were some really tough holes, especially on the front nine but they held it together and made some birdies coming in.
I’m a pretty hands off coach. I think these kids are excellent players and seasoned veterans. They can play a lot better than I can. I mostly just observe from a distance and get in there if I can help them out in a situation. But today, I let them do their thing and it was fun to watch.
On being the No. 1 seed…
We learned last year it doesn’t mean anything and we learned from the national championship a couple of times it doesn’t mean anything. I think tomorrow we will go out and try to break the curse of the number one seed in match play.
Arizona State’s Linnea Strom
On playing East Lake…
It is so much fun. The course is in great condition. I can’t remember the last time I played one this good of greens. It is so much fun to be here and to be able to practice and learn on those amazing greens and the course in general. I think it is good that the rough is hard and thick. You need to hit fairways to be able to play good. I think that is how it is supposed to be.
Arizona State coach Missy Farr-Kaye
Olivia (Mehaffey) from top to bottom had a beautiful round of golf. Really happy for her. That is a really good round of golf today. This is a great golf course. These are all great teams. Tomorrow is completely different so we’ve got to pick ourselves up a little bit. A little bit battered from today and a little bit beat up. This team is strong, tough and resilient and they will come back really fired up to play match play tomorrow.
Northwestern’s Janet Mao
What’s it like getting to come back home and seeing East Lake and being back here in Atlanta?
Yeah, it’s really fun. I’ve never played East Lake but I’ve out here for the TOUR Championship so it’s kind of fun to see the golf course from that perspective. Usually when I had come for the TOUR Championship it was before they flipped the nines and I remember sitting on 18 watching players come in on what is now 8 and 9 and I didn’t get to see much of the golf course so it’s fun to see the rest of it and it’s really historical here so being able to just be here it kind of cool.
Northwestern coach Emily Fletcher
The golf course was demanding for sure the greens were quicker today than they had been the last couple days. If you drive it in the rough it was tough to advance it and really do much with it and so you were kind of hoping for a chance for par.
You know Janet, for her to have a putt on the last hole to be co-medalist would have been… you know was a great round today so I’m really proud of her, hometown girl from Johns Creek so really pleased for her and proud of her effort today especially.
Vanderbilt’s Will Gordon
I got off to a really good start. I drove the ball really well on the front nine. I was 3-under through six and that set me up to a really nice day. It could have been better, but I’ll take it.
Very lucky to be able to play here. It is our second year in a row and only four teams get to play. We are really lucky to be one of them. It is a tough golf course that tests our game and is a good way to end the fall.
USC coach Andrea Gaston
I told them I was proud of them the way they handled themselves and they should be proud of the way they finished. Being second seed is awesome. We’ve got some great matches tomorrow, we have a chance to play Northwestern again which is who we played at the national championship. We’re looking forward to it.
Vanderbilt coach Scott Limbaugh
I was really proud how we hung in there today. We played really solid. Really proud of the guys. It is a hard golf course, I think you learn a lot about your teams in times like this.
I’m really happy for Will, he has been trending in the right direction. I was hoping Theo would have made his putt on 18 to finish birdie birdie. That would have been sweet.
Oklahoma coach Ryan Hybl
Stroke play is so much different from match play, so we’ve got to go back and re-work our thoughts a little bit on what is going to be happening tomorrow. Today, we got off to a really good start. The type of start that we needed to go and win today. We did not play No. 14 and 18 very good today. Two part5s that are not very hard. Overall, we were consistent when it comes to scoring but just not quite good enough today.
It is really special for me to come back home to the state of Georgia. This golf course, I have been around here quite a bit, playing in U.S. Ams, and the history of Bobby Jones and the history here and the TOUR Championship it is just a special place and we are honored to be able to be here.
Oregon’s Norman Xiong
This is definitely a tough course, especially when the TOUR players play this at a par-70. I can see where I need to improve and this is the best part about it. How to learn from experience like this. To compare yourself between how you played and how the other Tour players played this course.
Oregon coach Casey Martin
It was a humbling day. The golf course was really hard and we didn’t play well and didn’t handle it great. That’s frustrating but we made match play and we are going to give everything we’ve got tomorrow and hopefully have a little more mojo.
Presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the East Lake Cup Collegiate Match Play Championship is a three-day competition that features the eight semifinalists – including reigning NCAA national champion Oklahoma (man) and Arizona State (women) – converging upon historic East Lake Golf Club.
For more information about the East Lake Cup please visit the tournament website www.golfchannel.com/eastlakecup. Stay connected with the championship using the hashtag #EastLakeCup.
-NBC Sports Group-
