Following two days of competition at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Johnson & Wales University, the Bob Jones University Bruins golf team finished in third place, just four strokes out of first place.
From Maple Chase Country Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the Bruins faced off in a field of 22 golfers from Bluefield University, William Peace University, and Johnson & Wales University.
As the tournament got underway on Monday, Eli DeVaughn posted the first birdie of the day on the third hole. DJ Waller sank a 45 foot putt and Dakota Holt followed with a shot for eagle to add to the birdie total for the Bruins. To help move the team up the leaderboard, Lee Earl Jackson scored his first birdie of the day on the par-5, eighth hole.
After struggling on the back nine, the Bruins finished with a team score of 326, tied for second. At the end of Round One, Holt led the Bruins with an opening score of 78, followed by Waller with 80, Brandon Autry with 83, Jackson with 85 and DeVaughn with a total of 88.
On Tuesday, the Bruins got off to a strong start with Holt, Waller, and Autry moving into the top ten. Holt and Jackson tallied the first two of the birdies of the round for Bob Jones as the team closed the gap to just two shots on the front nine holes.
The Bruins continued to play well across the back nine.
Each player either tied or improved from their opening round score to put together a team score of 313. DeVaughn posted a 77 followed by Holt and Waller with a score of 78, Jackson at 80, and Autry at 81.
Three players finished in the top-ten of the individual leaderboard with Holt finishing first for the Bruins tied for third overall. The Bruins finished the tournament with a total score of 639, just four shots out of first place and two behind second place.
"We shot our lowest team score of the Spring 2026 season (313) this far, but it just wasn't quite enough. From tee to green the guys played really well, but we really struggled to make putts," said Head Coach Dennis Scott. "The greens were very nice, but challenging in slope and in the type of grass on them. We don't often get to play on bentgrass greens and it seemed that the missed putts was what kept us from winning this tournament. When you consider that we were behind the runner-up team by just two strokes and the winning team by just four strokes, it really comes down to putting. When a team counts 639 strokes over two days of competition and it only comes down to a handful of shots between first place and third place it likely comes down to putting."
Scott continued sharing some highlights from the tournament. "It was the career best individual finish for Dakota and for a brief time on the back nine in Round 2 he actually was the leader of the event. Eli's one-under par back nine score in Round Two was strong. The two freshmen (DJ and Lee Earl) continued to show what they are capable of in the next few years. Though we will miss Brandon as he graduates this Spring these two freshmen will be ready to fill his shoes."
"We have been consistently improving our team scores this Spring, and we are definitely focused on bringing the Competitor's Cup home in April."
Up next, the Bruins will be in Greenville to compete at North Greenville University's Trailblazer Spring Invitational on March 23-24.
