Monday, May 8 the Branson Bulls teed it up against an elite field in Division 2 playoffs. It was quite a day to be a Bull. 

Ryan Herbst came in with a career best 69 in tournament play and won medalist honors by 2 shots.  

Barry Liu and Aria Saluja also posted personal season bests at 80 & 82, respectively.   

With Charlie Farrell’s strong closing nine at 34 after a slow start, the team posted a 309. Each player shot their best 18 hole tournament score of the year, and it was better than last year’s winning score. But would it be good enough?

In the early returns, Branson held a three stroke lead over Cardinal Newman and Marin Catholic. However, Head Royce had two players inside the top 20 and when their final scores were posted, there was a tie at 309 with Branson.

The playoff tiebreaker is the final player’s score the score which hasn’t been counted up until this point. That’s where the Bulls had their ace in the hole Senior Jack Collett. Jack had an excellent practice round to earn the final spot in today’s competition and then went on to shoot a lifetime personal best of 85. That round was the winning ticket putting Branson in first place for the second consecutive season in Divison 2 playoffs.  

We also want to thank Ian Albrecht for coaching the team to victory again, especially after the T-4 at MCAL playoffs. 

In addition to these accolades Branson’s Charlie Farrell also brought home the MCAL’s Player of the Year (for low scoring average), and MCAL’s Bobby Jones Sportsman Award (in a unanimous vote from the league’s coaches based on a love of the game, talent and sportsmanship).  He was joined by teammates Ryan Herbst -  1st Team All-league, Aria Saluja - 2nd Team All-League, and Barry Liu - All League Honorable Mention. 

Way to go Bulls - congratulations to all ,and good luck to Ryan next week in Division 1 playoffs.