This past Monday and Tuesday, the Bruins golf team traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to compete at the Columbia International University Spring Invitational. They finished their competition mid Tuesday afternoon and when the dust had cleared, the Bruins found themselves in fifth place out of six teams competing.

"It is still early in the Spring season, but we have been practicing for a month and expected better results," started Head Coach Denny Scott. "We need to develop more mental toughness to rise to the challenges golf always presents. We have a few weeks without an event on the schedule so we need to get back to work on more than just the physical skills to execute golf shots."

Six teams competed during the invitational including Columbia International University, Roane State CC, St. Andrews, Bob Jones University, Bluefield University, and Columbia College (SC). Between the six teams and more participating as individuals, forty golfers battled it out on the course to take the top spots while also leading their teams to victory. The competition was held at Columbia Country Club on the Ridgewood/Tall Pines, a par 72 course, in Blythewood, South Carolina.

Timothy Smith, Spencer Cable, Josiah Swaffer, Nicholas Smith, and Brandon Autry were all competing for the Bruins team and Grant Camfield competed as an individual. Timothy led the first day for the Bruins with a score of 75 (+3) which was good enough for a third place tie. Spencer and Grant were the next two Bruins on the player leaderboard tied for 22nd with a first day score of 83 (+11). Right behind them was Josiah Swaffer with an 84 (+12) and Nicholas Smith an 86 (+14). Brandon Autry rounded out the team with an 87 (+15).

At the end of the first day, Roane State CC was leading with a team score of 307, followed by CIU with a 308. St. Andrews was third with a 325 and Bob Jones close behind with 328, Bluefield with 330, and Columbia College at 333.

Getting into the second day of action, everyone started from the first tee. Grant Camfield was the first Bruin out on the course and the rest of the Bruins were out between 9:00 and 9:50 a.m.  As the day progressed, it became evident that it was a more difficult day, but the Bruins pushed through the adversity. Since Grant was the first out on the course, he was also the first off as he finished with an 82 (+10) to bring his two-day score to 165.

Timothy continued to lead the way for the Bruins finishing his day with a 75 (+3) and tying for second place among the forty different golfers. Spencer Cable tied with Grant with an 82 (+10). Nicholas Smith finished his second day with an 83 (+11). Josiah Swaffer finished with an 86 (+14) and Brandon Autry finished with an 87 (+15).

Coach Scott continued, "Timmy played outstanding to finish tied for second place individually. He set the example for the rest of the team with his focus. He was relaxed and resilient in both rounds and played one of his best tournaments as a Bruin."

As a team, the Bruins finished fifth in the invitational with a two-day score 654. Their day one score of 328 was narrowly beat as they finished day two of the invite with a 326.

Coach Scott finished by saying, "We were disappointed with our Round one score and played minimally better in Round two. We didn't really have our "A game" as a team and had too many holes with "big numbers".  We work hard placing an emphasis on eliminating "big numbers" and we just didn't get it done."

For full results of the event, you can find those here.

Up next, the Bruins will be competing at the Johnson and Wales Spring Invitational in Cramerton, North Carolina. The invitational is a two-day event and is scheduled for March 25 and 26.


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