The Bradley men’s golf team ended its fall season on a high note with a win at the Butler Fall Invite last week. The Braves bested six other teams, finishing with a season low 873.
“The golf course fit us pretty well,” head coach Jeff Roche said about the win. “We were really able more to stay within ourselves.”
The first day of the invite was Oct. 6, where the team played 36 holes. Roche said that the first round went well, but when weather conditions changed, they “basically hit the panic button.”
The Braves, however, were able to bounce back the next day.
“Between the first day and the second day, they did a great job at just regrouping and understanding that things happen on the golf course,” roche said. “They were able to keep things in perspective.”
Despite the second day being “not much fun to play in,” the Braves prevailed to win the tournament for the second year in a row.
Senior Seth Trolia was the low scorer at the invite, shooting a 214 and placing second overall individually. Trolia shot a 67 in the final round, one shot short of the school record.
“My putting was on the entire weekend, and I relied on that,” Trolia said about his performance. “Even if I missed the green, I knew I could chip on and putt in.”
Trolia was named the Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week for his play at the tournament.
Junior Lyle Burns finished tied for fourth with a 216 while senior Danny Masrin shot a 222. Masrin was able to extend his streak of sub-80 rounds to 25.
While the men are already looking toward the spring, the women still have business to attend to in the fall. The women’s team will play in the Pat Bradley Invitational at the beginning of November in Sarasota, Florida.
“We will be practicing a lot of short game between now and our next event, and will play two more informal but competitive matches,” head coach Mary Swanson said. “I think this balance will help us prepare for our last event effectively.”
The women are coming off a 14th place finish at the rain-shortened Bearcat Classic on Oct. 7. Junior Danielle Lemek led the way for the Braves as she’s done most of the fall, shooting a team best 77. This was her 16th consecutive sub-80 round.
“Danielle has been successful as she is able to put on ‘blinders’ to any distractions,” Swanson said. “She keeps focused one shot at a time and not getting too ahead of herself or dwelling on the past.”
The rest of the team will try to emulate Lemek’s performance in their final event, which begins Nov. 2.
