NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Golf team had another tough tournament this week at the 2024 Garn Championships hosted at the Keene Trace Golf Club Monday and Tuesday.
The Blazers battled through wind and rain to place 21st on a very challenging golf course, which hosts the PGA’s Barbasol Championship each July.
The first two rounds of this 54-hole tournament were scheduled to be played on Monday, but round two ultimately needed to be finished Tuesday morning due to darkness.
The Trailblazers were led by freshman Alex Nealis (Olney, Ill.) who had a team-best 82 in round one, an 88 in round two and finished strong with an 83 in round three to place 66th overall.
Freshman Andy Clark followed Nealis with a solid bounce back tournament, with a first round 94 followed by an 86 and an 85 in the final two rounds to finish 96th on the leaderboard.
The next VU scorer was freshman Trejan Morrison (Ferdinand, Ind.) who made his Spring season debut with a first round 105, followed by a 99 and a 97 in the final two rounds to place 107th overall.
The Vincennes finishers were rounded out by freshman Jackson Stone (Vincennes, Ind.) who shot a 97 in round one, a 106 in round two and a 109 in the final round to place 108th.
Sophomore Aaron Brink (Nashville, Ill.) began the tournament, with a first round 86 and a second round 88 before withdrawing from the tournament due to injury.
VU as a team shot a first round 359, 361 in round two and a final round team score of 376 to place 21st overall as a team.
“Just when I thought things were tough with having to play without my number one player, Preston, my number two hurt his wrist and had to withdraw after two holes Tuesday,” VU Hall of Fame Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said. “We were battered by really strong winds and rain throughout the day and had to finish with only four players, so we couldn’t throw out our high score.”
“Scores were really up this year in the tournament because of the winds yesterday and both wind and rain today,” Chattin added. “I always like to point out a highlight but can only say that we had some guys who battled through the conditions. Hopefully after some time off before our next tournament we can get healthy again.”
The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and hopefully continue to improve, along with some better weather, in their next tournament, when VU heads to Hulman Links in Terre Haute for the Battle of the Woods tournament Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7.
