GREENSBORO, N.C. - The sun came out for the second round of the O'Bryant Jensen Memorial Tournament hosted by Guilford College, which featured 10 of the top 55 teams in Division III Golf.
The Bridgewater Eagles completed a successful campaign in which all five players in the starting lineup broke 80 in both rounds, something Bridgewater has never done before at the challenging Pete Dye Course of Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. The team score of 304 on Tuesday put the Eagles in 11th place for the tournament, ahead of several teams that are ranked higher nationally.
The Eagles were led on the second day by senior Ocean Armstrong, who shot 75. After a string of bogeys on the back nine, Armstrong birdied the 15th and 16th holes to keep his round going.
Sophomore Ronald Uszenski came in with a 75 for the Eagles' second score. His round featured birdies on #10, 11, and 18, and he only had one score above bogey for the entire tournament. "This was an important tournament for Ronnie, and he really came through for us," said head coach John Rogers. "He's been working hard on his swing lately, but he has also been working on the mental side of his game, trying to keep his composure throughout the round. I think he did a good job of that today and it showed in his score."
Senior Jake Norby shot the third score for the Eagles when he posted a 76. Norby birdied holes 14 and 15, showing true composure after a set of bogeys.
The fourth score for the Eagles came from senior Luke Hill. Hill posted a relatively clean scorecard with a birdie on the par-3 second hole after hitting the ball within two feet of the cup.
Rounding out the team, freshman Jason Spaar did not have his best ball striking day- however, he continued to scramble well as he has done all season. On holes 6, 7, and 8, Spaar got up and down from greenside bunkers; completing the tournament with a two day total of 155 (just 13 over par).
Playing as an individual, Eugene Dillon only had one birdie on hole 11 but managed to stay consistent throughout the day except for a few holes. His ball striking was where he needed it to be but he left a few opportunities on the greens that he tried to capitalize on.
"We might have hoped to score a little better today after the weather improved, but there is a lot to take away from the tournament," said Rogers. "We had remarkably consistent scoring all the way through the roster and we finished ahead of some teams that were ranked twenty to forty spots higher than us in the national rankings."
#6 Methodist University came in first as a team and the individual medalist was Mark Connelly- who fired a 3-under par 139 two day total.
The Eagles (with an average team score of 301.9 for the season) conclude the fall portion of their schedule and will return to competition in March.
