1 of 26

Spain Park hosted the annual Bradley Johnson Memorial Tournament at Greystone to continue honoring the memory of one of their most successful alumni. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Spain Park Jaguars continued their tradition of honoring the life and legacy of Bradley Johnson by hosting a tournament in his memory.

Spain Park competed in the Bradley Johnson Memorial Tournament on March 17 and 18 at the Greystone Golf and Country Club’s Founders Course.

The Jags finished in 12th place of the 16-team field filled with the top boys golf teams from across the state of Alabama.

Mountain Brook took first place with an even-par score while Vestavia Hills came in second with a score of 6-over-par and Hoover was third at 10-over-par.

The Jags finished with a score of 36-over-par after the first day of the shotgun-start tournament but rallied on day two to post a score of 25-over par to jump into 12th place at 61-over-par.

Adam Russell helped fuel that rally for Spain Park as he improved on his team-high round one score of 5-over-par with a 1-over-par 73 on the second day. Russell secured birdies on the par-4 sixth hole, par-5 13th hole and par-3 14th hole to counteract three of his four bogeys.

As a result, he was the top individual golfer for the Jags as he tied for 26th place at 6-over-par for the tournament.

Luke Philley also improved on his first-round score, going from 10-over-par to a 5-over-par 77 on the second day.

While he bogeyed his first hole of the day on the 12th hole, he scored at or below par on each of the next eight holes. He also shot par on each of his final five holes to finish even-par on the back nine.

Rocco Saia went from a 9-over-par on the first day of the tournament to a 7-over-par second-round score of 79, which was highlighted by birdies on the third and 13th holes.

London Crane also went from not being in the team’s top four scoring golfers on day one to scoring on the second day with a 12-over-par 84. He most notably shot a birdie on the par-3 fourth hole.

The annual invitational, commonly referred to as “The Bradley,” is conducted by Johnson’s parents Shari and Hugh Johnson to honor the former standout Spain Park golfer who died at the age of 17 in a car accident after placing second in the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur.

The event also serves as a showcase for the top male golfers on the high school circuit by giving them an opportunity to play an exclusive course in Greystone’s Founders Course, which is home to the Regions Tradition, one of the five majors on the PGA Tour Champions.

The Johnson family also runs the Bradley Johnson Foundation, which supports amateur golfers who want to play in high-level tournaments but struggle to afford the high entry fees.

The Jags will go on to compete on Wednesday, March 19 in a match against Vestavia Hills.

More Spain Park

Pelham, Spain Park split area baseball series as pitchers shine

Robert Starr earns 400th career win as Spain Park survives at Oak Mountain

Spain Park’s strong start fuels win over Vestavia Hills

Thompson’s Elizabeth Rosenstiel wins girls wrestling national title, Vines, Atkinson, Williams place