The Bradley men’s golf team hoped to maintain their momentum at the Derek Dolenc Invitational last Monday and Tuesday after finishing third in the Valpo Fall Invitational. The Braves shot 869 (+17) to finish in 13th place.
In the first round of the tournament hosted by Southern Illinois Edwardsville (SIUE), the Braves shot 291 (+7) with freshman Carter Stevenson leading the team with a score of 68 (-3). Sophomore Connor Hamm wasn’t too far behind him with a score of 71 (E). Freshman Brody McCarthy and fifth-year senior John Stillman both shot 76 (+5) while sophomore Max Adams finished round one with a score of 78 (+7).
This first round left the Braves in a hole early, firmly placing them 13th out of the 16 teams competing. Their struggles continued as the team shot 290 (+6) in the second round, keeping them in the same place.
Stevenson and Hamm sustained their momentum from round one as Stevenson shot a 67 (-4) and Hamm followed behind him with a score of 68 (-3). The rest of the team was not as fortunate, as Stillman shot a 77 (+6) and Adams repeated his score from round one. McCarthy also struggled in the second round, following up his 76 in the first round with an 81 (+10).
The Braves finished the tournament with their best round over the two days, shooting a 288 (+4). McCarthy bounced back after his rough second round with a 69 (-2), leading the Braves in the third round and finishing with a total of 226 (+13) to end the tournament tied for 76th place.
Stevenson had a historic finish, shooting a 70 (-1) to tie the all-time 54-hole record in Bradley history at 205 (-8) in just his second collegiate tournament. His performance notched him sixth place overall.
Hamm ended his tournament shooting a 75 (+4) in the third round to finish at 214 (+1). He placed 31st overall.
Stillman rounded out his consistent outing with a 76 (+5) to finish at 229 (+16), leaving him tied for 79th place. Adams finished right behind him as he shot a 74 (+3) in round three to put him at 230 (+17), one stroke more than Stillman.
Fifth-year senior Nick Armbrust competed as an individual and shot +26 with a score of 239 to put him in 88th place.
Overall, the Braves were not able to climb out of the 13th place hole they dug themselves in, finishing the tournament 17 over par.
This may not have been the result the Braves wanted, but there were still high points. Stevenson made his mark with a phenomenal outing early in his collegiate career, shooting the lowest 54-hole score from a freshman in the history of Bradley golf.
The Braves’ next competition will be at the Dayton Flyer Invitational on Oct. 16 and 17.
