The Bob Jones University men's golf team finished runner-up at the NCCAA South Region Tournament, posting a two-round team score of 616 to finish just one stroke behind the University of Toccoa Falls.
Leading the field was Bruins golfer DJ Waller, who captured the individual NCCAA Region Championship after finishing the tournament at even par. Waller opened the tournament with a one-under-par round before closing with a one-over-par second round to secure the individual title.
On Monday, the NCCAA South Region Championship got underway at the Cateechee Golf Club in Hartwell, Georgia. The Bruins were one of five region teams competing in the two-day tournament. In the field alongside Bob Jones University was Toccoa Falls College, Columbia International University, Paine College, and Baptist University of Florida.
Dakota Holt opened the scoring for the Bruins with a birdie on his opening hole of the tournament. Brayden Joyner had a solid start to go two-under through his first few holes. The Bruins finished the opening round with 12 birdies for a round one score of 310. This score put the team five strokes behind Columbia International University in second place.
As Round Two got underway on Tuesday, Holt and Joyner each birdied on the third hole. Eli DeVaughn had a solid start to the round as he saw pars on his scorecard through his first six holes. At the turn, DJ Waller and Holt each found themselves one under par. After birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, Waller moved to three-under par. As the tournament wrapped up, the Bruins put together a better overall performance with a team score of 306 in the second round to finish at +40 for the tournament.
BJU placed all five golfers inside the top 20 of the individual standings, with DJ Waller claiming the individual region championship title with a score of 144.
Full results from the tournament can be found here.
"Losing a golf tournament by just one stroke is one of the most difficult things to process," said Head Coach Denny Scott. "Every team member can remember a single shot that was poorly struck or a simple short putt that was missed somewhere in the 36 holes played. It's crazy when over 600 shots are tallied as a team, and it comes down to just one stroke that separates first place from second place."
Coach Scott continued, saying, "we spent much of the front nine in Round Two chasing down first-round leader CIU. While we were able to accomplish that and take the lead in the tournament, we were at the same time being chased by Toccoa Falls, who was just one stroke behind us starting the second round. At the end of the round, we realized that we had passed CIU and thought we had won, but then when all the scores were tallied, we found that Toccoa Falls had passed us by just a single shot. This is part of the "thrill of victory" and the "agony of defeat" that every athlete and coach signs up for when they get involved with competitive sport. I am thankful to have the privilege of working with these young men who represent BJU in golf competition. They showed resilience and determination in the contest and were gracious in the disappointment of the result."
"DJ played another amazing tournament, being the individual winner two weeks in a row. He has qualified for Nationals as an individual golfer, but time will tell if we have done enough as a team to be considered for an at-large bid at Nationals. The national tournament field will be announced on September 30."
Next on the schedule is the Pioneers Fall Invitational on October 12-13, while the Bruins wait to see if they have earned an at-large bid to compete at the NCCAA National Championships in Palm Coast, Florida the following week.
