Brody McCarthy takes a shot. Image courtesy of Bradley Athletics.
A season of steady progress and near-record performances for Bradley men’s golf ended just one stroke shy of perfection. The Braves wrapped up their fall schedule with a runner-up finish at the Missouri State Intercollegiate, finishing with a team score of 858 – just one shot behind champion Lindenwood.
Bradley’s success came down to consistency across all three rounds. After an opening 291 kept the Braves within striking distance, a blistering second-round 276 – matching the program’s best-ever single-round team score – vaulted them into contention. Despite entering the final day trailing by two strokes, Bradley couldn’t close the gap, posting a 291 while Lindenwood held steady with a 292 to clinch the title.
Junior standout Carter Stevenson anchored the Braves’ lineup, claiming third place individually at five-under-par 208. On Monday, his back-to-back rounds of 69 kept Bradley in the hunt, capping off a fall season where he led the team four times.
Brody McCarthy’s second-round 66 – the lowest score by a Brave this season –fueled his even-par finish and a tie for sixth place, continuing his late-season surge. Graduate student Weston Walker rounded out Bradley’s top performers, finishing ninth at one-over 214 thanks to a pair of opening-round 69s.
Though a stroke separated them from the top, the Braves left Ozark with momentum and confidence, with three golfers inside the top 10 and a team total among the best in school history.
Bradley heads into the spring ready to chase more hardware when competition resumes at the Savannah Intercollegiate in February.
