On Monday and Tuesday, the BJU Bruins golf team traveled to Mt. Gilead, North Carolina to compete in the Jack Ingram Pfeiffer University Fall Invitational. The Tillery Tradition Country Club hosted the event for eight teams over the two days. The Bruins finished fourth overall on the Par 72 course.

The teams that competed included Sandhills Community College, Pfeiffer University with an A and B team, North Carolina Wesleyan University, Bob Jones University, William Peace University, Johnson and Wales University, and Ferrum College. Timmy Smith, Nicholas Smith, Peter Zhong, Brandon Autry, Spencer Cable, and Michael Abdo who participated as an individual took to the course for the Bruins.

The course was tough, but the Bruins were up to the challenge. On the front nine of Round 1, Nicholas Smith and Brandon Autry were able to keep things under control as they turned at one over. Following close behind was Timmy Smith at plus three and Peter Zhong at plus four. Nicholas started his back nine with an excellent shot on the Par 5 10th hole with an eagle to put him at one under. The Bruins struggled the rest of the round and fell behind on the leaderboards. Nicholas Smith lead the team with a Round 1 score of four over. The team finished Round 1 with a 319.

Round 2 was just as challenging on the course as it was during the first round. Timmy Smith had an excellent day finishing with four birdies to go even on the day. Astonishingly, Nicholas Smith eagled on the exact same Par 5 10th hole for his second eagle of the two-day event. Sadly, the Bruins struggled the rest of the day. Peter Zhong had the second-best score of Round 2 for the Bruins finishing eight over. Nicholas Smith followed finishing nine over on the day. The Bruins made a play for third, but were outplayed by North Carolina Wesleyan in a two-stroke battle. The Bruins finished Round 2 with slight improvement at 317.

"Before this tournament we had never played at Tillery Traditions Country Club. We found it to be an outstanding golf facility and the layout presented a really good challenge for us both physically and mentally in preparing for Nationals next week," began Head Coach Denny Scott. "We certainly had some ups and downs throughout both rounds but came away from here with some positive focus and mental toughness. I believe we will have a better effort at Nationals as a result of competing in this event."

Timmy Smith finished the tournament with a 153 which was good enough to tie for seventh overall on the player leaderboard. Not too far behind, Nicholas Smith tied for 14th with a two-day score of 157. 

Coach Scott continued, "Timmy had one of his best individual rounds of the season in Round 2 shooting an even par round of 72 with four birdies.  There was only one golfer in the entire field who scored lower than Timmy's score in Round 2 and his effort left him with a top-10 finish."  

For full results of the tournament, click here.

Up next, the Bruins look forward to attending the NCCAA National Championship in Palm Coast, Florida. The event will take place from October 23-25 and will be played at Hammock Beach Resort's Ocean Course.


Tweet #WeAreBruins    Tweet #BruinsGolf