The first Bryan Bros Collegiate comes together through twists and turns

The inaugural Bryan Bros Collegiate offered a smorgasbord of goodies — a stirring duel for the title, a par-bursting individual champion and a juicy sub-plot with old rivals South Carolina and Clemson in a battle for position.

Players and coaches praised the experience at Solina Golf Club in West Columbia, and the sun’s peeping through at the end Monday afternoon perhaps offered well-done salute to those behind the scenes.

Ah, if it were only that easy. ...

The route from conception to the finish — LSU edged Charlotte for the team title and Duke’s Bryan Kim led the individual competition — featured more than its share of twists and turns.

Perhaps most significant: Solina became the tournament’s site only three and a half months ago, a ridiculously short time to stage a high-level golf championship.

“But we made it work,” said Steven Hartwig, director of golf for Bluebird Golf and Resort Management, the parent company that owns Solina and Columbia Country Club.

USC coach Rob Bradley planned the tournament, and he lined up the new Broomsedge Golf Club for the site. But the discovery that amenities required for the event would not be ready led to an about-face in June.

“Rob called Wesley (Bryan) and Wesley called Troy Thrall (Solina’s general manager) and me,” Hartwig said. “We went to Greg (Middleton, Bluebird’s owner) and he bought in.”

So little time. So much to do.

They needed extra golf carts. They needed trophies and special flags for the pins. They needed sponsors and signage and volunteers and plans to feed more than 100 players, coaches and officials. They needed to mark the course and secure portable restrooms.

One easy chore: Picking the name.

George IV and Wesley Bryan forged sparkling golf careers for the Gamecocks, and their trick-shot artistry is a YouTube sensation. Added their association with Solina, and The Bryan Bros Collegiate came naturally.

“We had hosted the Southerm Conference’s women’s championship last year and had an idea of what to expect,” Hartwig said. “But that was only eight teams and this would be 15.

“The teams had their hotel rooms and such, so we didn’t have to worry about that. But we had the other things to take care of and, of course, we had to have the golf course in great condition.”

Bluebird bought the old Indian River Golf Club that had fallen on hard times a couple of years and invested heavily to transform the property into a top-quality layout. Although the revamped course opened fully only a year ago, the positive response from players and coaches was music to the ownership’s ears.

Remember the mention of twists and turns? There’s another big one.

Plans called for a practice round on Sunday with the tournament starting Monday with 36 holes and winding up Tuesday with the final 18.

Then, hurricanes Humberto and Imelda happened.

“The weather reports predicted rain, especially all day Tuesday,” Hartwig said.

Bradley, assistant coach Brady Gregor, Hartwig and Thrall huddled Saturday morning and about noon decided to reset to 18 holes on Sunday and, hopefully, the final 36 on Monday. The teams could practice on Saturday.

Another twist: One team, Duke, would not arrive in time to practice on Saturday.

“We set the tee times back to 11:30 on Sunday to give Duke some time on the course Sunday morning,” Hartwig said.

A bummer: The new schedule forced cancellation of an exhibition featuring the Bryans and a player from each team that had been planned for the YouTube channel on Sunday afternoon.

With the wet conditions and misty rain, officials used what the PGA Tour calls “preferred lies.” Hartwig: “You’ll probably see some of these guys playing on Sundays, and with ball in hand, they were going to shoot low scores.”

And they did, including a pair of 64s that matched the course record. LSU, ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams in preseason polls, won with a team score of 35-under-par 817. Charlotte followed at 820, and Clemson (824) topped the Gamecocks (832) for third. Duke’s Kim took the individual title at 16-under 197, which tied the school record.

“The players and coaches liked it,” Hartwig said. “They said they want to come back.”

The sun’s breaking through at the end provided a fitting climax.

Chip shots. Sophomore Marek Fleming fired a 7-under 206 to tie for seventh individually and lead the Gamecocks. Both Frankie Harris and Zach Adams shared 16th at 209. ... Lucas Augustsson fired rounds 64 and 67 in Monday’s double round to power Clemson. ... Wade Wawner (Charleston) captured the SCGA’s Public Links Championship at the Charleston Municipal Golf Course with a two-round score of 10-under-par 134. ... Chippin’ in the Country, a fund-raiser to support the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association, will be held Oct. 10 at The Big Red Barn Retreat. For details and tickets, go online to www.wscga.org.

This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM.