DJ Waller made history at the NCCAA National Championships in Palm Coast, Florida, becoming the first individual national champion in Bob Jones University golf program history as the Bruins secured a seventh-place finish among nine teams.

For the sixth time in seven years, the BJU Bruins made an appearance at the NCCAA National Golf Championship. This year, the Bruins earned a spot in the national lineup after receiving an at-large bid following their second place finish at regionals. DJ Waller, Dakota Holt, Eli DeVaughn, Lee Earl Jackson, and Brayden Joyner represented the school at the championship. 

The three round tournament got underway Monday from the Conservatory Course at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. The teams battled gusty winds from the very beginning. These conditions proved to be challenging for all as none of the teams had a score lower than 300. Following the first round, the Bruins sat seventh overall. 
 
On Tuesday, DJ Waller made moves as he climbed up the leaderboard with an impressive performance. At the conclusion of Round Two, he was the only golfer in the championship field to score under par. As a team, the Bruins finished 11 strokes better on Tuesday than on Monday. 

The Bruins looked to wrap up their time at nationals with a strong overall finish. Throughout Round Three, the Bruins put together nine birdies and scored their best team score of the tournament with a score of 314.

At the conclusion of three rounds of play, DJ Waller found himself tied at the top of the leaderboard with Corley McLernon out of OUAZ. To determine the individual champion, the two went into a playoff. On the first playoff hole, both Waller and McLernon finished still tied. On the par four sixth hole, Waller's shot from the fairway set himself up with a makeable putt for par. McLernon missed his putt to give Waller the individual medalist honor. This was the first time that the individual national champion was crowned from a NCCAA-only program. 
 
With Waller's top-ten finish, he becomes just the second Bruin in program history to earn NCCAA All-American honors since Grant Bagwell did so in 2021.


 
"Coming into nationals, I really thought we were capable of a top five finish, but the wind made it difficult, even though it was the same for everyone," said Head Coach Denny Scott. "While we improved our team score each round (always an important goal), it was just too deep of a hole after Round One. But the guys didn't give up and showed great character in the face of the adversity."

Full results from the NCCAA National Championship can be found here. 

The Bruins will wrap up their fall campaign at the Eagle Invitational hosted by Alice Lloyd College next Monday and Tuesday.