WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Freshman Drake Bushong (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) fired a one-under par 70 to claim medalist honors by three strokes and the Bradley men's golf team finished second at the Zach Johnson Invitational Tuesday.
Bushong finished out an impressive performance with a one-under 70 in the final round at the par-71 Glen Oaks Country Club to claim top individual honors by three strokes. His three-round total of 212 was just two shots off matching the lowest 54-hole score in school history as he topped Northern Iowa's Eric Sikkema for medalist honors. The last Bradley freshman to win medalist honors was Travis Kreiter during the spring of 2011.
Bradley turned in its best round of the tournament with a third-round score of 290, but the Braves were unable to catch Northern Iowa. The Panthers shot 288 Tuesday to finish up play with an 874 team score. Bradley was seven shots back in second at 881 and the Braves edged third-place Oral Roberts (882) by one shot. South Dakota finished fourth at 887 and tournament-host Drake rounded out the top five in the nine-team field at 894.
In addition to Bushong's impressive effort, senior Lyle Burns (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour/Parkland) posted his first top-10 finish of the year. Burns carded a 71 on the last day of play to finish six shots behind Bushong in sixth at 218. Fellow senior Garrett Cox (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour) missed matching the lowest 54-hole score of his career by one shot, finishing at 222 to finish 15th. Cox shot a 76 for his 12th consecutive sub-80 round and finished in the top 20 for the fourth time in five tournaments.
Sophomore Daniel Lensing (Spring Park, Minn./Orono) tied for 27th in the field at 230, carding a final round 73, while junior Zach Jewell (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone/Illinois Central) completed the team scoring with a final round 82 to finish in 50th (239).
Junior Bobby Jacobs (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) was in the field as an individual and shot his lowest round of the season with a four-over 75. Jacobs tied for 39th at 235.
The Braves close out their fall schedule Oct. 19 & 20 at the Austin Peay Invitational in Hopkinsville, Ky.
