The Bruins wrapped up their two-day Bruins Golf Classic with a fifth place finish. The competitive field of golfers hailed from North Greenville University, Roane State Community College, University of the Cumberlands, Spartanburg Methodist College, Covenant College, and Toccoa Falls College.

The 11th annual Bruins Golf Classic got underway Monday morning from Cobb's Glenn Country Club in Anderson, South Carolina. Most of the BJU golf team hit the course as the Bruins fielded an A and a B team.

"We had a strong start to the tournament early in Round One, but we stumbled a little late in the round with some big numbers on the final two holes and slid back into a tie for 3rd place with Covenant College," said Head Coach Denny Scott.

At the end of the first round, North Greenville University led with a team score of 302 with the University of the Cumberlands right on their heels at 303. 

"We were looking to finish Round One closer to 307 or 308 to stay within striking distance of the leaders, but just didn't finish strong," said Scott. 

Nicholas Smith led the Bruins at the end of Monday with a score of 76. Dakota Holt finished with 77 followed by Peter Zhong at 79, Eli DeVaughn at 83, and Brandon Autry with 84 for a team total of 315. 

Josiah Swaffer finished even with Nicholas Smith at 76 to lead the Bruins B-team after Round One. 

As the golfers made their way to the golf course on Tuesday, rain made conditions less than ideal. Round Two began with a shotgun start. The course remained playable with each of the golfers able to finish the tournament. 

At the finish of the second round, Peter Zhong finished with a score of 78. Dakota Holt and Brandon Autry both completed the round with 80 followed by Eli DeVaugh at 86 and Nicholas Smith behind at 87. Their team score of 324 in Round Two saw the Bruins come in fifth place as a team behind Spartanburg Methodist College.

"The scoring struggles from late in Round One continued early in Round Two," said Scott. "There were too many "big numbers" to climb up the leaderboard and we eventually fell back into a fifth place finish."

Three Bruins scored in the top 20 individually in a field of 55 golfers. Peter Zhong and Dakota Holt were each tied for 12th with Josiah Swaffer (76-82=158) one stroke behind in 18th. 

Looking at some positives from the tournament, Coach Scott said, "we gained valuable experience in preparing for regionals next week. We must have a strong mindset to overcome any difficulty or adversity we may face in competition and that includes the weather conditions something we obviously cannot control."

Full results from the Bruins Golf Classic can be found here. 

Up next, the Bruins will compete at the NCCAA South Region tournament in hopes to finish top in the region.