|
Bucknell Set to Host Patriot League Men's Golf Championship This Weekend
April 21, 2005 LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Patriot League Men's Golf Championship comes to the Bucknell Golf Club this weekend, and the Bison squad is expected to be among the contenders for the title. The 54-hole championship consists of 36 holes Saturday and 18 Sunday morning, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The par-70 Bucknell Golf Club has played host to the Patriot League Championship twice previously. Army won here in 1994, with the Bison finishing third. In 2000 Navy defeated Bucknell by three shots for the team title, after a top Bison player was disqualified for an incorrect scorecard. Previous individual PL champions at Bucknell were Colgate's Rick Gregson (72-79-78--229) in 1994 and Navy's Joel Almquist (68-77-73--218) in 2000. Bucknell has never won a team or individual Patriot League title in men's golf, but fourth-year head coach Jim Cotner has assembled a deep and talented squad that could change that this year. The Bison have won three team titles in 2004-05 - the Colgate Invitational and Bucknell Invitational in the fall, and the St. Peter's Invitational this past Tuesday. Comparing place finishes at fall and spring tournament competition, Bucknell is 22-4 against Patriot League rivals this season. Lehigh finished ahead of the Bison at two fall events, while American did the same twice this spring. The only teams Bucknell has not seen this year are Army, which has won the Patriot League title a league-high seven times, and Holy Cross. In the preseason coaches' poll, Army was picked as a slight favorite over Bucknell, followed by Lehigh, Navy, American, Colgate, Lafayette and Holy Cross. Army also has the highest current ranking (211) in the Golfweek/Sagaran Collegiate Ratings, followed by Bucknell (230), American (231), Navy (242), Lehigh (243), Colgate (268), Holy Cross (273) and Lafayette (275). Sophomore Charlie Waddell will be Bucknell's No. 1 player in the lineup. Waddell is enjoying a terrific season, with a 75.4 scoring average in 10 tournaments this year. He has six top-10 finishes, including a second at the Cornell Invitational in the fall and a fourth at the Lafayette Invitational this spring. Last year he finished sixth at the Patriot League Championship and earned all-conference honors. "Charlie is having such a great spring, and we are really looking for him to lead us this weekend," said Cotner. Junior Tom Lane (12th), junior Ben Pellicani (T13th) and sophomore Patrick Yingling (T13) also posted top-15 finishes at last year's Patriot League Championship, as Bucknell placed fourth at Colgate's Seven Oaks G.C. One of the team's longest hitters, Lane averaged 76.1 in the fall but has struggled some in the spring, averaging 81.7 in mostly lousy weather conditions. Yingling is coming off a 1-under-par 71 in a second-place finish at the St. Peter's Invitational on Tuesday, and he also posted a top-5 finish at the Bucknell Invitational in October. Senior Alex Dolle's 75.6 fall scoring average was second-best on the team. He had a remarkably consistent fall, shooting 77 or better in every round. Like Lane, Dolle's average has gone up this spring, but he is capable of going very low on any given day, as evidenced by his 5-under 67 at St. Peter's in 2004, which was a school record in relation to par. Sophomore Kyle Moran won the Bucknell Invitational with rounds of 74-72 at the BGC, and just two weeks ago he tied for eighth at the Bethany Beach Invitational. Another young player, freshman Keita Aoka, will make his championship debut for the Bison. Aoki is averaging 77.3 for the year, with his top finish a T-8th at the Bucknell Invitational in the fall. The Bucknell Golf Club plays to a par 70 (36 front, 34 back) at a distance of 6,253 yards. The challenging course features many narrow fairways and small greens, demanding accurate shotmaking. The longest hole on the course is the 593-yard third that requires an up-hill approach to a slender green. Perhaps the signature hole is the 499-yard, par-5 ninth. The hole is reachable in two shots for the longer players, but a large pond in front of the green brings a significant "risk vs. reward" decision just before the turn. "The team that wins here will keep the ball in play off the tee and have a great short game around the many small greens," predicted Cotner. The Patriot League Championship begins at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, with the second round scheduled to tee off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's final round starts at 8 a.m. Admission is free to the event. The Bucknell Golf Club is located off Smoketown Road, approximately one-half mile west of the Bucknell campus, across Rt. 15.
|
MULTIMEDIA 
Photo Galleries 
Facilities Gallery 
Video Player 
Media Guide |
