JMU Finishes Tied for Seventh in Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jonas DeLeon and James Madison men's golf opened their 2026-27 seasons in style on Tuesday afternoon, as the Dukes captured a tie for seventh place at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate, hosted by Southern California at the par-72, 7,334-yard Whirlwind Golf Club.

The Dukes carded three straight rounds under par, posting scores of 282 and 274 on Monday before closing with a 12-under 276 on Tuesday maintain their hold on seventh in the 13-team field, which included three top-30 teams in No. 22 USC, No. 24 Stanford and No. 28 California.

JMU's team performances dotted the record books, with the Dukes' second round of 14-under 274 tying for the fifth-best performance in program history. Their final score of 832 (-32) was also the second-lowest 54-hole score to par ever posted at JMU.

DeLeon made his way into the JMU all-time lists as well, tallying rounds of 70 (-2) and 69 (-3) to start, then finishing with a 6-under 66 that pushed him up into a tie for 11th of 81 players at 11-under 205. His 54-hole score marked the fifth-lowest ever posted by a JMU golfer.

All four of the Dukes other team scorers tied for 51st at 3-under 213, with Ethan Anderson (73-73-67) using a final-round 67 (-5) to climb 22 spots on the leaderboard and René Bergendi (75-68-70) joining him under par on Tuesday with a 2-under 70 to jump six spots himself.

Blake Hartman (69-71-73) and Michael Hake (70-66-77) rounded out the JMU scoring alongside their teammates.

Playing as an individual, Henry Holland also made waves, posting scores of 65-70-71 to finish at 10-under, good for a tie for 17th. Holland's opening-round 65 (-7) is tied for the sixth-best performance to par in program history.

The Dukes will be back on the course next week, traveling to Waynesville Country Club to play in the JT Poston Invitational, hosted by Western Carolina on Sept. 13-15.

Calendar