Special to BradleyBraves.com
by Patrick Morey
With Spring Break right around the corner many Bradley students are going on trips, catching up on sleep, or going to visit family. But most probably are not going to have as much fun as the men's golf team, who get to play at the famous Pinehurst Resort this weekend.
The Braves will be taking part in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate 2015 Tournament, which will be played on Pinehurst No. 8. They will be starting the weekend with a practice round on Thursday and then they will have three days of 54-hole tournament golf. This is Bradley's first time competing in this event and the Braves will be playing with 11 other schools, including local rival Western Illinois and fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Loyola Chicago.
The weekend does not end there through; on Monday the team will be playing a round at Pinehurst No. 2. Number 2 is a 7,565-yard course that is the 16th ranked course in United States, 46th in the world, and has hosted a PGA Championship, a Ryder Cup and and four U.S. Opens, including both of last years men's and women's tournaments. The Braves will conclude their getaway on Tuesday at the Duke University Golf Club.
The Braves are in for a full weekend but head coach Jeff Roche, who has played at No. 2, is most concerned with getting some work in.
“This is really the first time we are able to practice outside. We spend the winter months inside, but it's just not the same thing.”
Coach Roche is concerned with getting his team ready to play for the conference tournament, which is at the end of April at the Porto Cima golf course in the Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. With so little outside practice time, they have to take full advantage of the time they get now.
There is also a little history with Peoria and Pinehurst, according to coach Roche. After not hosting a major tournament for more than 60 years, Pinehurst hosted the 1999 U.S. Open, which was won by the late Payne Stewart. Stewart died in an airplane crash just four months after winning that event. On the plane with him was golf course designer Bruce Borland, who worked for Jack Nicklaus. Raised in Peoria, Borland designed Bartonville's Coyote Creek Golf Course.
Coach Roche knows his players are excited, but some of them might not be too daunted by playing at such a famous course.
“I have players who have played at St. Andrews, Kiawah Island (The Ocean Course), and Muirfield Village, to name a few.”
Bradley's next event will be at home on April 2-3, teaming with the women's golf team to host the Bradley Intercollegiate at Weaver Ridge Golf Course.
