EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Bradley men's golf team opened the 2013-14 in strong fashion, carding the third lowest round in program history (286) and the Braves are third in the team standings after 36 holes at the season-opening Derek Dolenc Invitational.
The Braves had three individuals shoot under par in the first round of the season and carded a two-under par 286 in the morning at the par-72 Sunset Hills Country Club. Senior Kyle Gunther (Dunlap, Ill./Peoria Christian) took low honors of the day for Bradley by matching a career-best with a two-under par 70 in the opening round. Gunther had to withdraw from the second round, however, due to dehydration and the Braves had just four players for the day's second round.
Junior Seth Trolia (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour) fired a one-under 71 in the first round and had the best second round among the BU quartet with a one-over 73. He heads into Tuesday's final round tied for sixth at even par (144) and is just one shot out of the top three.
Freshman Bobby Jacobs (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) had an impressive day in his first collegiate tournament. He matched Trolia with a one-under 71 in the first round and is tied for 13th at 147 after shooting a 76 in the afternoon.
Senior Daniel Young (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) is tied for 30th at 151 after rounds of 74 and 77, while junior Danny Masrin (Palatine, Ill./Jakarta International School) rounds out the scoring in a tie for 36th at 152. Masrin carded rounds of 77 and 75 during Monday's play.
Bradley's opening round 286 ranks as the third lowest round in school history, behind a pair of 282's, which date back to last spring at the Bradley Invitational (4/7/13) and a round at the Murray State Invitational on Oct. 3, 2006.
Belmont moved up from third to first following a second-round 291 and ended the day at 580, while tournament-host SIU Edwardsville slipped into second (583). The short-handed Braves were tied with SIUE for first after 18 holes and shot 301 in the afternoon to close the day seven shots behind first-place Belmont at 587.
Nebraska-Omaha is two back of the Braves in fourth (589) and Bradley holds a four shot edge on fifth-place Lipscomb (591). Drake sits in sixth (593) and Missouri State is seventh overall at 598. South Dakota closed Monday's play in eighth (599) and in-state foes Southern Illinois (9th – 601) and Eastern Illinois (10th – 613) round out the top 10, respectively. IPFW is one shot behind the Panthers in 11th (614) and Western Illinois completes the field in 12th (621).
Bradley closes out play at the Derek Dolenc Invitational Tuesday at 8 a.m. with a single round.
