Despite the fact that senior golfers Branden and Michael Mounce have played to win on the same sports teams all their lives, the competition between the twins has remained up to par.
“It sucks to lose, and it sucks even more to lose to your brother,” Branden said.
The competition has always been fierce between the brothers. While growing up in El Paso, Illinois, the two said they played a myriad of sports including football, basketball, baseball and hockey.
Once they started at the small high school at El Paso-Gridley, they narrowed their sights down to a few sports. One at which happened to be golf.
“We live on the golf course, so there were a lot of times where we would just get a couple buddies and just play until dark, which was fun to do with someone who lived with me,” Michael said.
All that time on the course paid off in the high school state tournament. They led their team to a second-place state finish in their sophomore year, and back-to-back 1A titles in their final two years. To the Mounces, it wasn’t just an individual victory, but one they could celebrate with the community.
“It was just the guys we grew up playing with our whole lives,” Michael said. “So just to win something like that with those guys, I thought it was awesome.”
After their successful high school careers, both took their talents just 15 minutes down the road to Illinois State, where they played freshman year. After one year, both decided to come to Bradley.
“I actually left ISU a few weeks before [Michael] did,” Branden said. “It was the middle or end of July when he finally moved on from there. By that time, 99 percent of teams have their roster filled and don’t want anybody else. For Coach Roche to let both of us on was pretty special.”
Bradley head coach Jeff Roche knew the brothers from the past and immediately pursued their transfer.
“I had watched both of them play in high school, but they chose to attend ISU,” Roche said. “When they decided to make a change and called me to say they were interested in transferring to Bradley, I knew we had to make room for them. That was a great day for Bradley men’s golf.”
The brothers have both logged 17 rounds thus far in the 2018-19 campaign. Michael is averaging 73.65 with one top-10 finish. Branden isn’t far behind with a 75.59 average.
“They are both great players and want to win,” Roche said. “So, they push each other to be the best that each of them can be. The sibling rivalry is at play as well, always wanting to beat the other in whatever competition it is.”
While the twins have their similarities, they aren’t identical and neither are their golf games.
“They are similar in that they are both ultra competitive,” Roche said. “But their style of play is different. Branden plays with a more aggressive style, while Mike is more tactical.”
“If I could describe it,” Michael said. “I’d say that I’m a little more conservative, and Branden just kind of goes with it.”
Off the course, the brothers have won multiple accolades for their academic efforts. Michael, an entrepreneurship major, was the class valedictorian at El Paso-Gridley, placed onto the Athletic Director honor roll five times, the MVC honor roll twice and was awarded the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award in 2017 and 2018.
Branden, a finance major, was named to the AD honor roll four times, landed on the MVC honor roll twice and awarded the Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award in 2018.
Upon graduation, the duo does not plan on heading in separate directions just yet. They’ll use their degrees from the Foster College of Business to assist their father with the multiple businesses he owns in El Paso.
Additionally, they don’t plan on ending their golf careers any time soon.
“We’ll still play competitive golf around the area and then if it gets good enough, we’ll try to push it to the next level,” Michael said.
Before looking ahead, the two still have approximately five tournaments left in a Bradley golf uniform this spring.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them,” Roche said. “They’ve been great, on and off the course. They have both been so instrumental in the success we’ve had in the time they’ve been here.”
The team will continue spring action this upcoming Monday and Tuesday at the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate in Springfield, Missouri.
