Will play on Walker Cup team next week
Birmingham’s Gordon Sargent has added another honor to his growing list of amateur golf achievements.
Sargent, a junior at Vanderblit University, was announced as the winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading man in the 2023 World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The McCormack Medal winner receives exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and The 152nd Open at Royal Troon.
“It’s really special to have won the McCormack Medal, especially when you see the names of the golfers who have won it before, and everything that comes along with it, including the major exemptions, is really cool,” Sargent said.
“This achievement definitely means a lot to me. It’s a goal that I’ve had set for a while and it gives me a lot of confidence now that I’ve achieved it. I’m really honored to be receiving the medal.”
The American rose to the top of the men’s ranking in February this year after winning the John Hayt Invitational by seven shots. In April, he became the first amateur since Aaron Baddley in 2000 to accept a special invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament and then went on to win the Mason Rudolph Championship by eight shots in the following week.
Sargent was a member of the team from the United States of America which won the Arnold Palmer Cup in June and in the same month he qualified for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in June, finishing tied-39th and earning the low amateur in his second major championship appearance.
So far this season, he has also recorded six top-ten finishes in college events and will compete for the United States of America against Great Britain and Ireland in the 49th Walker Cup at St. Andrews next week.
He will play for the USA Team in the World Amateur Team Championship in October. He has also received invitations to play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic on the PGA TOUR earlier this year.
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Photo of Gordon Sargent courtesy of Vanderbilt University
