MONTGOMERY, Ind. – The Vincennes University golf team is beginning to pick up steam for the 2023 Fall season as the Trailblazers host the 2023 VU Fall Invitational at Country Oaks Golf Club in Montgomery Saturday, Sept. 9 and Sunday, Sept. 10.
Sophomore Preston Broce (Indianapolis, Ind.) headlined the Trailblazers during the tournament, placing eighth overall after two rounds of one-over par 73, giving him a tournament score of 146.
Freshman Alex Nealis (Olney, Ill.) was the next VU scorer, shooting a first round 75 on Saturday and a 77 on Sunday to place 19th overall.
Sophomore Aaron Brink (Nashville, Ill.) was the Trailblazers top scorer Saturday, finishing the first round with an even par 72, before shooting an 81 on Sunday to place 22nd.
Freshmen Trejan Morrison (Ferdinand, Ind.) and Matt Slover (Salem, Ind.) rounded out the VU scorers, with Morrison shooting two rounds of 82 to finish 40th overall and Slover shot an 82 on Saturday and a 99 on Sunday for 51st overall.
Freshman Jackson Stone (Vincennes, Ind.) played the tournament as an individual and shot a first round 91 on Saturday before shooting an 89 on Sunday to place 50th overall.
The Trailblazers as a team shot a 302 on Saturday and a 313 on Sunday for a tournament score of 615 and a sixth place finish for the weekend.
"I thought we played reasonably well Saturday but the scores were amazingly good for all of the top schools," VU Hall of Fame Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said. "Aaron had a best round at even par 72 Saturday but followed it up with a very weak round Sunday."
"Preston had a very steady and good 73-73 and doing it with a couple of bad breaks," Chattin added. "He lost a ball in a fairway Saturday, only to be found seconds after he dropped another ball costing him a shot penalty. Then today he had a ball hit a cart path, shooting it out of bounds. So he really hit the ball well enough to have been under par for the tournament, but it's like I told him, 'we don't play on a basketball court. We play on an imperfect surface and that's why they call it 'the rub of the green''."
"I was disappointed in today's round, even though the greens were wet from the dew this morning, we should have putted better," Chattin said. "The pins were tough but everyone plays the same ones. Alex Nealis will be a solid contributor for us this year I believe. Right now, we are just looking for a good fourth score. We are young, so I expect us to improve."
Vincennes will be back at it in just over two week when the Blazers travel to Danville, Ill. to take part in the Danville Invitational hosted at Danville Country Club Monday, Sept. 25.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
TEAM RESULTS
Campbellsville A – 280, 284, 564
Spalding A – 291, 294 – 585
Danville Area – 292, 297 – 589
Mineral Area A – 293, 314 – 607
Campbellsville B – 307, 302 – 609
VINCENNES – 302, 313 – 615
Spalding B – 307, 314 – 621
Fontbonne – 317, 305 – 622
Mineral Area B – 333, 324 – 657
Southeastern Illinois – 354, 336 – 690
VINCENNES RESULTS
Preston Broce (8) – 73, 73 – 146
Alex Nealis (19) – 75, 77 – 152
Aaron Brink (22) – 72, 81 – 153
Trejan Morrison (40) – 82, 82 – 164
Jackson Stone (50) – 91, 89 – 180
Matt Slover (51) – 82, 99 – 181