College Golf Star Gordon Sargent Left Out Of Vanderbilt Line-Up Months Before Taking Up PGA Tour Card

Gordon Sargent has been left out of a college golf line-up for the first time where there hasn’t been a tournament conflict.

As first reported by the Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine, the 21-year-old is not in the Vanderbilt Commodores side for the Valspar Collegiate, which begins on Monday at Floridian National Golf Club.

Sargent, who is set to turn professional after May’s NCAA Division I Championship, has made three starts for the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2025 so far, but he has failed to find his best form, with finishes of 63^rd, 54^th and 74^th.

That’s a significant drop in form compared to his earlier collegiate career where he not only reached the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) but also earned his PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University Accelerated system after reaching the 20-point threshold.

That entitled him to take up his playing privileges in June 2024, but instead, he opted to defer his card for a year to see out his college career.

At the time, he wrote on Instagram: “It’s been an honor to represent this university alongside my teammates and coaches, and I look forward to continuing to compete – and further my education – at this amazing place that has given so much to me.”

Sargent’s omission from the latest line-up will surely be a disappointment given another reason he opted to defer his PGA Tour card was the experience of competing for his college. He told the PGA Tour’s official website: "If you talk to anybody who's played college golf, they really do say it's the best time of your life.”

It’s not just the college golf environment where Sargent has generally thrived. He also earned an invite to the 2023 Masters, before winning low amateur honors for his T39 at the US Open two months later. Sargent, who went unbeaten at the 2023 Walker Cup, also played in last year’s US Open and The Open, where he missed the cut in both.

Sargent will hope his omission from the latest Vanderbilt Commodores line-up allows him the time to recover his best form ahead of a big couple of months that includes the defense of his title at the Mason Rudolph Championship followed by the SEC Championships, the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Division I Championship.

After that season-closer, Sargent, who is currently ranked 11^th in the WAGR, will take up his PGA Tour card, where he will have full status until the end of the 2026 season.