The Bradley women’s golf team teed off their 2018 spring season on Monday and Tuesday in Florida at the Amelia Island Collegiate, where they placed seventh out of 15 teams.
Unfortunately for the Braves, junior Chloe Horton could not finish her final round due to illness. Despite playing a golfer down, Bradley still finished in the top half of the event. Sophomore Taylor Ledwein led the Braves in Florida, tying for 23rd overall and finishing with a 12-over 288.
The Braves competed in their second tournament of the week in Arizona at the Rio Verde Invitational, where they had better results and finished in fourth place as a team. Bradley was in fifth after day one and in seventh after day two but turned it up on day three. The whole lineup shot scores of 79 or better to move the team to fourth place behind Seton Hall, Akron and Arkansas State.
Once again, it was Ledwein who was the Braves’ top golfer. She tied for fifth place overall and shot a 72 on the third day, which was her lowest round of the season. Ledwein said she enjoyed how she and the team played this week.
“We met our goals as a team, and that shows us that we are moving in the right direction,” Ledwein said. “As for myself, I was happy with how I played the whole week. I didn’t finish well my last round at Amelia, but I bounced back with my finish at Rio.”
Head coach Mary Swanson said she was also proud of the team’s effort this week. It was the best finish in the tournament throughout Swanson’s eight years as coach. She looked on improving the team’s performance by securing victories when faced with a small deficit or lead.
“If things are going well, it can be relatively easy, but if things are going down, we need to be great at short game and recovery shots,” Swanson said. “We will continue to work on them.”
The Braves will continue their spring season in two weeks when they host the Bradley Spring Break Invitational in Texas on March 12 and 13.
