The Bradley men’s golf team finished third at the Valpo Fall Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, finishing behind fellow Missouri Valley Conference foes Valparaiso and Evansville. The Beacons won their home tournament while the Aces came in second.
In the first round, the Braves placed sixth after shooting a 302 (+14). The sophomore duo of Max Adams and Connor Hamm alongside freshman Brody McCarthy led the squad, with Hamm shooting a 72 (E) and Adams and McCarthy both shooting a 75 (+3). Freshman Devin Reichard and fifth-year senior John Stillman brought up the rear, shooting an 80 and 85, respectively.
The team kept their position after shooting another 302 in the second round, but all five golfers did show improvement by shooting below 80. McCarthy led the team with a 73 (+1) and a 148 overall up to that point in his first collegiate meet. Stillman was able to improve his score by nine strokes in the second round, tying Adams with a 76 (+4). Hamm followed up his on-par first round with a 77 (+5) and Reichard shot a 78 (+6).
The third round was the Braves’ best, as they shot a 295 (+7) to rally and capture third place. Both Hamm and Stillman shot their best of the day, turning in 71s (-1) to round out their tournament. McCarthy shot a 73 (+1) to finish eighth with a 221, just behind Hamm who finished seventh with a 220 (+4).
Fifth-year senior Nick Armbrust and freshman Carter Stevenson played as individuals in the tournament, with the former shooting a +19 and the latter shooting a +12.
The Braves finished the tournament with an 899, showcasing some great play out of the younger members on the team. Adams, a transfer out of Alabama State, had previously won two individual titles at his former school. In his career, he’s shot 72.2 on average and he showed his talent in his debut for the Braves with a 75 and a 76 in the first two rounds.
Hamm also started the season off on the right foot by turning in his best round since the Cotton Farm Intercollegiate last season with his 71 in the third round. He helped pull some weight for the team and finished in the top 10 for the first time as a Brave.
The team’s next tournament is on Monday and Tuesday at Southern Illinois Edwardsville for the Derek Dolenic Invitational.
