The Bob Jones University men's golf team closed out two days of competition at the Trailblazer Spring Invitational, turning in a hard fought performance against a competitive field.

Hosted by North Greenville University at the Cherokee Valley Country Club, the Bruins were one of eight programs at the Trailblazer Spring Invitational. 

"This tournament involves numerous NCAA D II teams and gives us the opportunity to compete at a higher level with some scholarship athletes," said Head Coach Denny Scott. "Due to this tournament falling on during our Spring Break, the team members chose to participate in it, and it became a chance for them to experience more competitive rounds."

As the tournament got underway on Monday, the Bruins started on the back nine of the course. DJ Waller earned the first two birdies for BJU on the 13th  and then on the 16th holes. Dakota Holt added a birdie for the Bruins on the 16th hole as well. After back-to-back pars, Waller notched his third birdie of the round on the third hole.

At the end of the opening round, the Bruins found themselves in eighth place with a team score of 324. Waller led the Bruins with a score of 77, followed by Lee Earl Jackson with 80, Brandon Autry with 82, and Dakota Holt finishing with a score of 85.

On Tuesday, the Bruins played well and improved their score from the opening round, and recorded eight birdies across the course with each player contributing. After 18 holes, the team recorded a score of 318 to move up to seventh place with a two-day total of 642.

 

Following the Trailblazer Spring Invitational, Coach Scott shared his thoughts. "Two of our freshmen (DJ and Lee Earl) chose to stay during the break, and I think they benefited greatly from the experience. They showed that they are quite capable of reaching this level of competition. Brandon knew this was his last opportunity as a senior to compete in a stroke-play tournament. While his first round was not up to his expectations, he finished on a high note in Round Two. Dakota wasn't 100%, but he provided the team the leadership we are looking for heading into the Fall 2026 season."

"Having just four golfers in this tournament meant that everyone had to post a counting score. Everyone knew that their score had to be a "counting score" for the team. This always adds some extra pressure and was good for us."

He concluded saying, "there were some solid positive takeaways, one of them being that we moved up a spot on the team leaderboard in Round Two. We always have as a goal to climb the leaderboard and improve our team score with each successive round, and we felt good about accomplishing those goals. We also had a lot more birdies with Brandon and DJ each scoring three of them in Round Two. Now we need to focus on bringing the Cup back home."

Full results can be found here. 

The Bruins wrap up their Spring season on April 6-7 in the much anticipated Competitor's Cup against Columbia International University.