On Sunday the championship for the ODAC, one of the premier conferences in DIII golf, got underway at Forest Oaks in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Bridgewater College men's golf team, facing four of the top-25 teams in the nation, and six of the top-70, posted 309 to close the first round in 9th place.
 
Forest Oaks, a former PGA Tour venue, saw great spring weather and scoring was good across the field. The Eagles, who started a young lineup that included no seniors, were led by sophomore Logan Douthat.
 
Douthat had a nine-hole stretch in the middle of the round that included four birdies, and he completed the final five holes with solid pars to shoot 74. This was despite a hiccup on #6, a par-5 with a green that has a severe false front. Douthat hit the false front twice and ended up with a triple-bogey. Outside of that hole, he played under par, and he sits in 14th among 60 players.
 
"Logan is a grinder," said head coach John Rogers. "He's not the longest hitter, and there's nothing flashy about his game, but he has a knack for making birdies, and he has potential to shoot low numbers. Even with a triple on the card today he beat the #9 player in the country, so it was a very good start to the championship."
 
Fellow sophomore, Max Bondurant, fell prey to another false front on the first hole and took a double bogey, but then he played the remaining holes at just +2. Rogers pointed out that Bondurant was thrown in the deep end on Sunday since he was paired with the reigning ODAC player of the year (Eddie Coffren, Lynchburg), and his two playing partners were cumulatively -7 on the day. Regardless, Bondurant played the final eight holes at even par and posted a solid 76.
 
Junior Hayden Hawes, the lone upperclassman for Bridgewater, did not feel confident over his short putts today, but he managed to avoid any big mistakes and shot 79. He had a ten-hole stretch in the middle of the round that featured eight pars.
 
Freshman Brandon Washburn said he had a couple stretches of poor ball-striking, and not many of his mid-length putts were falling during the first round, yet he rallied after a double-bogey on the thirteenth hole and finished with an 80.
 
First-year player, Jack Thome, played through pain and swing adjustments due to an injury on Sunday. He posted an 85.
 
Guilford, the #5 team in the nation, shot 284 (-4) to take the early lead, with four other top-50 teams chasing them. Only ten strokes separate Roanoke, Randolph Macon, Shenandoah, and Bridgewater, the teams in the middle of the pack.
 
"I think we were still feeling out the course today, and figuring out these greens, which have a bunch of tiers and movement in them," noted Rogers. "While we did not go as low as we hoped, we at least did not do any real damage either. In the ODAC a team can play some really good golf and finish anywhere from fifth to tenth, so our job is to move towards the top of that list, and for our young players to keep gaining experience."
 
The Eagles hit the first tee at Forest Oaks on Monday at 8:30 AM for the second of three rounds.