Another week and another tournament brought another medal for Bradley men’s golfer Ethan Brue, who finished first overall and led the Braves to a second place team finish at the John Dallio Memorial in Lemont.
Brue, a junior transfer from Illinois Central College, shot a two under 70 to make up a two-shot deficit on the final day to win first place as well as Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Golfer of the Week. As a team, the Braves shot 896, second place only to tournament host DePaul.
“Score-wise, Ethan is a player we feel like we can count on most every round that we play,” head coach Jeff Roche said. “[His presence] gives the other guys a comfort level to know that he’s there, so they don’t have to feel the pressure of trying to do something more than what they’re capable of that day and so it kind of frees everybody up so they can all do what they need to do.”
So far, Brue says there are a few differences between junior college golf compared to Division I, but he couldn’t be happier with his decision to come to Bradley.
“This past week my ball striking was still really good, but a few mistakes cost me the first day and took me out of the lead,” Brue said. “A little pep talk from coach Roche on my putting Monday night really helped me out and I putted the lights out the last 14 holes or so on Tuesday. Making 5 birdies that last round to shoot 70 was one of the best feelings I’ve had on a golf course all year. I’m really hoping I can carry this new found confidence with my putter and help lead us to a victory at [Southern Illinois-Edwardsville] next weekend.”
Sophomore Drake Bushong also had a solid tournament as he tied for ninth overall, the ninth top-ten finish of his career at Bradley. Junior Zach Jewell finished tied for seventeenth, while senior Bobby Jacobs and sophomore Branden Mounce tied for 20th, rounding out the Braves top five.
“We’ve taken advantage of opportunities on certain holes that we need to take advantage of,” Roche said. “Both tournaments we’ve played, we’ve led the tournament in birdies. The difference this week verses when we played at Valparaiso was we had a lot of ‘other’ things, like double bogeys and triple bogeys, and we didn’t minimize those.”
The men will play their next tournament on Monday and Tuesday at the Derek Dolenc Invitational, hosted by SIU-E.
“Last year the [SIUE] tournament brought a lot of low scores,” Roche said. “Last year we shot our school record for three rounds down there but we still finished middle of the pack. It’ll be a good test for our guys. The first two tournaments we’ve had have been tough golf courses and have suited us pretty well. It’ll be nice to see a change like this where we’ll have to shoot some low scores, so it’ll be a different kind of challenge.”
The women’s golf team also continued their early success, shooting the second-lowest 54-hole round in school history on their way to a fifth place finish at the Ball State Cardinal Classic.
The Braves were led by junior Ally Scaccia and sophomore Chloe Horton, both of which finished just two over par on the last day. Scaccia finished eleventh overall, shooting a 222, and Horton finished nineteenth, shooting a 226.
“Ally and Chloe, just like their teammates, are committed to all aspects of their improvement and never settle for less than their personal best,” head coach Mary Swanson said. “They are also committed to their off the course pursuits wholeheartedly, which gives them a balanced outlook on the course.”
Scaccia said she was proud of her play this week but added that there are many aspects of her game she can improve upon.
“I feel that my play was good, but I left a lot out there on the course,” Scaccia said. “I missed a lot of short putts within the 4 rounds and definitely could have gone lower. However, scrambling to shoot a few over par when I’m not playing the best teaches me how I can keep improving and where I need to work.”
The team will play its next tournament in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at the MVC Preview, where the young Braves team hopes to show the conference what they have in store this season.
“I am extremely excited to see what we have in store,” Scaccia said. “I truly believe we can be one of the best teams in history given the youth and talent we have. We don’t have anyone graduating this year, so we have all returners back for the ‘17-’18 season. We are all excited to see what can happen, but we’re taking it one shot at a time and staying patient.”
