OCEAN ISLE, N.C. - Bridgewater men's golf faced tough competition along with blustering conditions to place seventh as a team at the Pfeiffer Spring Invitational in the second round of play at the Panther's Run course Tuesday.

The Eagles dealt with tough pin positions leading them to high scores across the field during the second round on Panthers Run totaling +66 on the team leaderboard. The men came up on a lot of bogies early in the round and struggled to get momentum as they were second in the first round with thirteen birdies but only managed five on Tuesday. 
 
In hopes to lurk near the top of the leaderboard, the Eagles wound up in sixth after the first day and dropped a spot today for seventh.
 
"We have several excuses at our disposal, with two of our top players recently returning from injuries, and with the harsh winter that prevented a lot of practice, but in the end we simply did not execute this week," said Bridgewater Golf Head Coach John Rogers. "The guys kept fighting today in conditions that were not always fun and hopefully we will be aware of the weaknesses that were revealed at Panthers Run. We have a national-level tournament in five days and we need to find a way to be more prepared by then." 
 
Max Bondaurant sat out fall season after an all ODAC performance last year, having a rough start to the tournament but cleaned it up enough to lead the team on Tuesday with a 79. Bondaurant went to the range yesterday after the rough round and tweaked his backswing. Today, the senior kept it in play off the tee and hit solid irons, although struggling to sharpen his ability around the greens.
Uncharacteristically, Walker Gillespie joined Bondaurant as one of the higher scores during the first round but likewise helped lead the team in the second round with a 79. Although ball-striking is still a work in progress, putting seemed to turn around for him by the second round. 
 
With eleven pars in tough conditions, Brandon Washburn carded an 81. Washburn faced one hole with compounding mistakes that led to a triple bogie and went 75-81 (156) to finish thirteenth out of 101 players. The windy conditions played a factor in Washburn's comfort, dealing with difficult control over the ball. Christian Carroll then landed an 87. After a solid first round, he started Tuesday +10 through seven and never really found that groove. Christian tied for the drop score after teammate Alex Deaz hit back to back tee balls out of play on the 15th hole, for an 8 and a matching score of 87 for the round. Deaz struggled from the tee box throughout the round.
 
Gage Hull posted an 81, veering him in the right direction. He managed to control his tee ball a bit better than the first round. Will Layton scored an 85, while handling contact issues on his full shots and wedges. Layton continued to battle on the back nine to keep the round from getting away.
 
Eagles rounded out in 7th of 18 teams as Southern Virginia led the way for the win.
 
"College golf in the Spring is some of the toughest golf there is, with all kinds of weather, dormant fairways, and sketchy greens, but we all face it together and our guys are much better than we showed this week," said Rogers. "I expect that our scores will more properly reflect our ability as we go through the season."

The Eagles hit the golf course again on March 9 and 10 at the Tiger Invitational.