WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio – The No. 41 nationally ranked Otterbein University men's golf team was in action this weekend at the three-day OAC Championship, finishing tied for first with a team score of 871. Following 54 holes, the Cardinals battled with Mount Union in a playoff to decide the conference title, but came up just short after two extra holes.
For the first time since 2024, the Cardinals claimed the top individual medalist honors as
Clay Bruning led the OAC with a three-round score of -3 (72-70-71) at the OAC Championships, held at River Greens Golf Course. Bruning was one of just two players to finish under par, joined by teammate
Carter Woodward at -1 (73-73-69), who also tied the OAC's best single-round score of -3 (69) during Sunday's final round.
Bruning surged during the second round, posting an even-par 72 on Friday. He built momentum by eagling the 494-yard par-5 eighth hole and added back-to-back birdies on the back nine to finish the day at -2. The junior continued to take advantage of the eighth hole throughout the championship, recording birdie-or-better on it for three consecutive days. He cemented his medalist honor with a birdie on the 17th hole during Sunday's final round.
Woodward capitalized on ideal scoring conditions on Sunday, carding just one bogey—on the third hole—before catching fire with birdies on holes 6, 8, 11, and 12. The senior opened the championship with rounds of 73 and 73 over the first two days.
Otterbein endured a challenging opening round on Friday, posting a team score of 293 to sit third behind Marietta (287) and Ohio Northern (291). Bruning paced the Cardinals with an even-par 72. The No. 41-ranked Cardinals showed improvement on Saturday, matching their opening-round score with another 293 as they began to round into form.
Jake Morgan would card a 72, while rounding out the lineup this weekend was
Ian Morgan and
Colin Bibler.
Jake Morgan finished the weekend with rounds of 75-72-72 to finish tied for sixth overall.
Ian Morgan was at his best during the first and third rounds, carding scores of 73 in both rounds to finish at +8 for the tournament. Bibler showed steady improvement after opening with an 81, improving to a 78 on Saturday before closing strong on Sunday. He recorded a pair of birdies and posted a 76 (+4) in the final round.
Mount Union earned the OAC's automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships. Otterbein will now wait and see if they receive one of the final nine coveted berths at-large selections, which are institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and independent institutions. Ten individuals will also be selected from the remaining players who have not qualified with a team. The NCAA Championships will be held May 12-15 at the Mission Resort + Club at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.
