PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Men's Golf will open its 2020 spring schedule in the Peach State, taking part in the Invitational at Savannah Harbor Saturday and Sunday in Savannah, Ga., in its first competition of the spring semester.
Making what is believed to be the first trip in program history to the state of Georgia, the Braves will mark the earliest they have opened their spring schedule since 2015-16 with the 19-team Invitational at Savannah Harbor held at the par-72 Savannah Harbor Golf Club.
Joining Bradley in the tournament field is Missouri Valley Conference foe Valparaiso along with Bethune-Cookman, Brown, Columbia, Delaware, Fairleigh Dickinson, Florida A&M, Francis Marion, Iona, IUPUI, Longwood, Navy, Northern Kentucky, St. Joseph's, Savannah State, Western Carolina, Wright State and tournament-host William & Mary.
Play gets underway Saturday with a 7 a.m. (CST) shotgun start for the opening two rounds. Sunday's final round will also feature a 7 a.m. (CST) shotgun start. BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live scoring for all three rounds.
Senior Alex Ciaramitaro was Bradley's top finisher in each of the last four tournaments of the fall and paced the team with a 75.33 stroke average during his first full semester concentrating on golf. He owned a 75.00 stroke average over the final four tournaments of the fall and opened his last outing with a career-best two-under par 70 in the first round of the Little Rock Invitational back in October.
Freshman Josh Kirkham was among Bradley's top three finishers in all five fall tournaments, joining Ciaramitaro, and was second on the team with a 77.47 stroke average. Over the final eight rounds of the fall, Kirkham owned a 77.13 stroke average.
Junior Jalen Hodges closed out his first semester on the Hilltop with a 77.93 stroke average to rank third on the team. The Parkland College transfer placed among Bradley's top three individuals in three of his first five outings as a Brave.
After playing in all five fall outings, the freshmen duo of John Stillman and Nick Armbrust will round out the Bradley lineup for the spring opener. Stillman had the low round of the fall for the Bradley freshmen, firing a pair of 73's. Armbrust had his strongest outing of the fall in mid-October at the Flyer Invitational in Kettering, Ohio.
Bradley will have a few weeks off following the Invitational at Savannah Harbor before returning to the course March 9 & 10 at the Grover Page Classic in Jackson, Tenn.
