Aurora, Ill. -- Coming off of one of the most successful seasons in recent program history, the Thunder men's golf team returned to the links on Tuesday after four months away from competitive action to begin the new 2025-26 campaign. Wheaton took the short drive over to the Aurora Country Club this morning for the Spartans' annual two-round Double Gun event. The Thunder had ten players participate in today's tournament and fielded two teams of five as a result. The Wheaton 'A' team placed 11th in the 19-team competition, while Wheaton's 'B' squad finished 13th. Senior Tannen Reed posted the top score of the day for the Thunder, coming in a tie for 32nd-place in the 104-player field.

Aurora's 'A' squad triumphed at its own event, winning the double gun by a commanding 15 strokes over runners-up University of Wisconsin-Stout following both rounds of play. Elmhurst's primary grouping came in 10th place with a two-round total score of 617 (+41), just four shots ahead of Wheaton's 621 mark in 11th place. The Thunder 'A' squad entered the clubhouse well ahead of North Central in 12th place with a 637. Wheaton's 'B' team finished the long day of play six strokes behind North Central's lone team and eight strokes ahead of Lake Forest's 'B' group in 14th position. Wheaton's first team shot a total score of 307 in Round 1 and 314 in Round 2, while its 'B' side improved dramatically across the second 18, lowering their first round mark of 333 to a 310 tally.

The Tulsa native Reed stayed consistent across both rounds on Tuesday, carding a 77 (+5) on both sets of 18 for a daily total of 154 to tie for 32nd on the individual leaderboard. Junior teammate Wyatt Brown finished just one shot behind him, registering a 77 in round one and a 78 in round two to tally a combined mark of 155 and place inside the top-40.

Fellow junior Baylor Brogan led the Thunder 'B' lineup with a T-46th finish this afternoon, and he was matched on this standing by Jackson Swartz. The former bettered his first round score of 83 by nine strokes on the second-18 to card a combined 157, while the latter shot a 76 and 81 in the first and second rounds, respectively, to end the day level with Brogan and secure a top-50 finish.

Junior transfer Luke Pringle shot a total tally of 159 in his debut event for the Thunder, and Ryan McLain joined Pringle on this two-round total. Both golfers enjoyed stronger performances across the second 18 holes, with Pringle shooting an 81 and 78 and McLain carding an 84 and 75.

Freshman Ryan Soe posted a 161 total score in his collegiate debut, tallying round totals of 77 and 84, and fellow rookie Micah Chiong was only one stroke behind Soe with 18-hole scores of 83 and 79. Aidan Quinlivan and Freddie Chan rounded out the Thunder's 'B' squad with two-round totals of 165 and 167, respectively. 

After starting its Fall 2025 schedule today, the Wheaton men's golf team will next be in action on Friday afternoon at the Judson Fall Invitational in West Dundee.