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Golf wraps up fall season

The Bradley men’s and women’s golf teams finished their respective fall seasons last week as the women took second place at the Missouri Valley Conference Preview and the men’s team rebounded and finished sixth at the Dayton Flyer Invitational.

The women had a successful showing in the opening round of the 10-team preview at the par-72 Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton Indiana. The Braves ended the first round with a four-shot lead at 320.

They couldn’t retain the lead after shooting a 323 in the second round, totaling a score of 643 after two days. Missouri State University kept on top of the competition with 642.

Junior Taylor Ledwin led the pack as the first round individual leader after a 3-over-par 75. Ledwin then tied for second with a 79 in the second-round and total of 10-over-par 154.

On Tuesday, the Braves concluded the third round with a team score of 328 to finish at 971. Missouri State won the team title by only two shots at 969. As a result, Bradley finished in second in the standings and concluded their fall season.

This was the first time since 2008 that the women’s golf team finished in the top two of the MVC Preview. Men’s and women’s golf coach Jeff Roche noted how thrilled he was with the team’s performance following the end of day two.

“The golf course was set up hard like a championship golf course, and they battled hard,” Roche said.

On Monday, Bradley men’s golf had a rough start at the 12-team Flyer Invite in Kettering, Ohio. The Braves found themselves in last place following the first round at the par-71 NCR Country Club South Course after shooting a 305.

Rain and wind made it difficult for the Braves to adapt quickly according to Roche.

“Obviously, we didn’t handle the [first] day great,” Roche said. “We didn’t adjust mentally very well. It’s something we can learn to control better moving forward.”

The Braves recovered in the second round after posting the best team score of the day at 285. Bradley was only one of three teams to conclude the second round due to a lack of daylight that forced a suspension in play.

“When [we] started the second round, we took advantage in that important stretch of the golf course, and we didn’t have any rain,” Roche said. “We got off to a really good start and kept that positive momentum going throughout the whole round.”

Senior Drake Bushong notably hit a 76 in the first round and broke the program record for career sub-80 rounds, which was previously held by Seth Trolia at 104. He finished out with a 71 in the second-round to help in Bradley’s recovery before the course suspension.

Bushong said he was happy with how the team came back later in the tournament but felt he could have done better individually.

“I was glad we came back after we struggled in the first round,” Bushong said. “The conditions got a little bit better later on. We started on a stretch where it was a scorable side, so it definitely played a factor into the score overall.”

The Braves concluded play in round three on Tuesday after scoring 6-over-par 290 to finish with a team score of 880. Bradley finished sixth in their final tournament of the fall. Davidson College won the team title at 9-over-par 861.

Bushong added that the fall schedule was a good opportunity to prepare for the spring and that the team is ready for MVC play.

“[The recent events are] something to look at and work on in the spring,” Bushong said. “I think that’s a good takeaway. Granted, we would have liked to get better than sixth place [at the Flyer Invitational]. But, it all comes down to preparing for the spring.”

The men’s team will commence their 2019 spring season on Feb. 25 at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational in Spring, Texas.

Bradley women’s golf will open their spring season in the MVC Championship on April 14-16 back at the Sand Creek Country Club.

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