PINEHURST, N.C. -- The Bridgewater College men's golf team faced its first DIII competition of the spring season on Saturday at the Tigers Invitational at Forest Creek (Pinehurst, NC), an event which features many of the elite teams in the nation. Among 18 top-tier DIII teams, including 11 of the top-40, the Bridgewater squad battled through windy, cool conditions to post a team score of 323.
 
Freshman Brandon Washburn seems to be solidifying his spot in the starting lineup after leading the team in the first round on the North Course at Forest Creek, a great Tom Fazio design in an exclusive community. Starting on the back nine, Washburn missed a couple putts on the early holes and was +2 quickly, but he added two birdies on his opening nine, and was still just +2 through 14 holes. Despite hitting a few errant shots coming in, the first-year player held on to shoot 78, a score that matched or beat two of the top-10 players in the country.
 
"I'm really pleased with the maturity Brandon is already showing at such an early stage in his college career," said head coach John Rogers. "He is very coachable, works hard, and he seems to have a gift when it comes to tournament play-- the course, the conditions, and the competition today all had potential to be intimidating, but he just went about his business, and he actually played better than the final score."
 
Similarly, senior Jacob Sears played more solidly than his final tally, saying his score of 80 was the "best 80 I ever shot". Sears closed both nines with a double-bogey / bogey finish, but played the other 14 holes at just two strokes over par. He led the team with 10 pars on Saturday, and lived up to his reputation as a good scrambler.
 
Junior Hayden Hawes said he continued an early-season tendency to make too many bogies, but he never made higher than that. Despite approach shots and wedges that made scoring tough, Hawes worked hard the whole round, and he was tied for third among 92 players on the par-3 holes (E). He came in with an 82.
 
Sophomore Max Bondurant, playing in the lead spot for Bridgewater, had four double-bogies and a few tough breaks on his way to an 83. On his 17th hole, the second toughest on the course, he was short-sided and executed a beautiful flop shot from a tight lie, but it landed on the edge of a sprinkler-head and shot 60 feet across the green. Bondurant birdied #7 which played as the third toughest hole on the course on Saturday.
 
Sophomore Logan Douthat had ball-striking problems early in the round and said he struggled with the slick pace of the greens, but he also drove the ball very well and hit 12 of 14 fairways. He posted 89.
 
"This kind of tournament is great for perspective, and great for experience," noted Rogers. "Even though we are young, we're a good team, in the top half of DIII golf, but here we are the lowest-ranked team in the field. By playing tough courses, and playing in groups with very talented golfers, we learn things and we get better. We actually spent a lot of the day in the middle of the pack, which is good among so many impressive teams. It won't take long for our guys to realize they can produce scores like these other teams."
 
As they approached the conclusion of the front nine, the Eagles were within four strokes of two of the top-4 teams in the nation (Methodist and Piedmont). After a first round team number of 323, the Eagles sit in 18th place, but only seven strokes from 13th, a spot occupied by the #17 team in DIII (Sewanee). "Tomorrow we will chase these teams, and we will keep learning," said Rogers.
 
Play resumes at 9:30 Sunday with a forecast of temperatures in the low 40s and rain.