Mocs Golf Wins Record Third Tournament in One Season

March 11, 2025

Rick Nyman,

(gomocs.com) Dominating performance. That’s the succinct explanation of the Chattanooga Mocs play winning the Babygrande Golf Donald Ross Collegiate. The Mocs completed the 54-hole tournament with a 25-under 839 total after blitzing the field with a final round 270 (-18). That was good for a 23-stroke victory with host George Mason a distant second with 862 (-2).

All five starters turned in par or better cards led by a trio of 5-under 67s from Dalton Chuba, Camden Braidech and Braedon Wear. Garrett Engle chipped in 69, while Ethan Whitaker’s 72 was the drop tally. Braidech and Engle shared medalist honors with George Mason’s Samir Davidov at 7-under 209. It was Braidech’s second win and Engle’s first.

Talking Points

“Really proud. Obviously, today was a really good round by all five guys. I think at one point everybody was four or five under. They had it going but honestly, what makes me more proud was yesterday. The last hour and a half, it got nasty. It was windy, rainy, got cold, and these guys played their tail off. I think we played those holes at even par as a team. That makes me more proud seeing the fight and grind that they have, and I think that kind of carried over into how today went.” – Coach Blaine Woodruff

“It was kind of an uncomfortable bunker shot on the downslope off some firm sand. It is one of those situations where you know what you have to do. So, might as well get it done.” – Garrett Engle on sand save on 18 that earned a share of the win

“It’s a great week. It’s my second win on a Donald Ross course in North Carolina, so apparently, I really like those. The start of the spring has been a little bit shaky, so to get this victory is awesome.” – Camden Braidech on his second win of the year is such a strong team performance

Tournament 9: Ross Collegiate

Dates: March 10-11 | Format: 36/18 | Host: George Mason | Location: Southern Pines, N.C.

Course: Mid Pines Inn & GC| Par: 72 | Yards: 6,657

Field: (79) Chattanooga, Bowling Green, Dayton, (77) Elon, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Loyola Chicago, Loyola Maryland, Ohio, Old Dominion, St. Bonaventure, St. Joe’s, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Dakota, Toledo, Towson, Xavier, William & Mary

Results

1) Chattanooga: 284-285-270=839 (-25)

2) George Mason: 286-290-286=862 (-2)

3) Seton Hall: 286-294-287=867 (+3)

4) Loyola (Md): 285-304-279=868 (+4)

5) South Dakota: 291-295-288=874 (+10)

6) Xavier: 292-289-295=876 (+12)

7) Elon: 284-301-293=878 (+14)

8) William & Mary: 295-297-287=879 (+15)

9) Toledo: 298-294-288=880 (+16)

10) St. John’s: 296-300-289=885 (+21)

11) Loyola (Chicago): 307-297-283=887 (+23)

12) Bowling Green: 291-299-299=889 (+25)

13) Old Dominion: 294-303-296=893 (+29)

tie) Georgetown: 298-303-292=893 (+29)

15) Dayton: 297-300-304=901 (+37)

16) St. Joseph’s: 299-306-306=911 (+47)

17) George Washington: 300-311-302=913 (+49)

18) Ohio: 301-312-301=914 (+50)

19) St. Bonaventure: 309-306-300=915 (+51)

20) Towson: 312-318-291=921 (+57)

Lineup

T1) Garrett Engle: 70-70-69=209 (-7)

T1) Camden Braidech: 70-72-67=209 (-7)

T4) Dalton Chuba: 69-75-67=211 (-5)

T8) Braedon Wear: 76-71-67=214 (-2)

T25) Ethan Whitaker: 75-72-72=219 (+3)

What to Know

The 23-shot winning margin is the largest since 30 over South Florida at 2023 Wofford Invite.
All five starters had six birdies today. The counting cards resulted in 24 with 42 pars and just six bogeys playing par or better on 91.7 percent of their holes.
Engle, Braidech & Chuba all had matching stat lines of six birdies, 11 pars and one bogey.
25 under is the 5th-best vs par in school history: -45 (2008 Aldila Scenic City Invite), -43 (2023 Wofford Int.), -30 (2024 Colleton River Coll.) & -28 (2024 SoCon Champ.).
9th tournament win in 34 events under Coach Blaine Woodruff. Now at nine medalists in seven events, second co-medalists. Tied with Reed Sanderlin for second-most coaching wins. Mark Guhne holds the record with 20 from 2006-21.
Four Mocs claim wins on the season: 2-Braidech, 1-Engle, Wear & Whitaker in three events – Qubein Cup (Braidech), Bentwater Intercollegiate (Wear/Whitaker) & here (Braidech/Engle).
1st time in school history sweeping titles at three tournaments in a season. Previous wins are at the Qubein (Braidech) and Bentwater (Wear/Whitaker).
5th season with three or more team wins: 2006-07 (3), 2007-08 (4), 2008-09 (3) & 2022-23 (4).
Second time with three or more medalists in a season and 1st since 2016-17 [Wes Gosselin (Mobile Sports Authority Int.), Brooks Thomas (USA Ind.) and Etienne Brault (Trevecca Inv.)].
Braidech is the first Moc since A.J. Lintunen in 2020-21 to win multiple times in a season.
Last time playing par or better in all three rounds? 2024 SoCon Championships turning in 284, 274 & 278 shooting 28 under.
Last time with all five in the lineup playing par or better in the same round? Oct. 22, 2023 in round two of the Furman Intercollegiate (64-Paul Conroy, 69-John Houk, 69-Chuba, 70-Engle & 70-Samuel Espinosa).
Last time with three top 5? 2024 SoCon Championships: T3-John Houk, T3-Samuel Espinosa & 5-Paul Conroy.
Last time with four top 10? 2023 Hoosier Invite: T3-Houk, T5-Conroy, T8-Espinosa & T10-Engle.
Last time all five in the lineup finishing top 25? 2023 SoCon Championships: 4-Conroy, T5-Wear, 10-Houk, T11-Engle & T14-Espinosa. Last time in the regular season? 2008 Scenic City Invite: T2-Ben Rickett, 5-Stephan Jaeger, 7-Fredrik Qvicker, T10-Jonathan Hodge & T25-Derek Rende.
Second time playing par or better for a tournament in 2024-25 (-2, 862, Steelwood Coll.).
Front 9: -18 | Back 9: -7.
Par 3: +2 | Par 4: -3 | Par 5: -24.
Eagles: 0 | Birdies: 52 | Pars: 138 | Bogeys: 25 | Others: 1.
52 birdies are the most in 54 holes for the program since 54 at the 2024 Colleton River Collegiate.
Played par or better on 88.0 percent of the holes on the counting cards (190/216).
Season bests for par 4 (-3) and par 5 (-24) scoring.
24 under on par 5s is best since 29 under at 2024 SoCon Championships.