PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's golf team continues a busy April schedule by welcoming four other teams to WeaverRidge Golf Club for the Bradley Invitational Sunday and Monday.
Sunday's action at the par-72 WeaverRidge Golf Club will feature 36 holes starting at 8 a.m. and the teams will play a single round Monday starting at 8:30 a.m. Joining Bradley in the field is Missouri Valley Conference foe Loyola and former Valley opponent Creighton in addition to in-state rivals Chicago State and Western Illinois.
Senior Lyle Burns (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour/Parkland C.C.) has shared medalist honors in each of Bradley's last two outings and is the defending individual champion after claiming top honors at last year's Bradley Invitational by an impressive seven strokes. Burns opened last year's Bradley Invite with a pair of three-under 69's and his three-round total of 210 from the 2015 was the lowest 54-hole score in program history at the time.
One of two seniors for the Braves playing in their final home tournament, Burns has shot 72 or better in four of his last five rounds and owns a 73.00 stroke average this season. His 51 sub-80 rounds in his nearly two years on The Hilltop are the fifth most in a two-year period in program history.
Burns helped the Braves tie for second at last year's Bradley Invitational and the team has finished in the top two in two of the last three seasons.
While Burns and fellow senior Garrett Cox (Mahomet, Ill./Seymour) will be playing in their final home tournaments, freshman Drake Bushong (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) will play on Bradley's home course for the first time as a Brave. Bushong has carded 24 consecutive sub-80 rounds to open his Bradley career and leads the team with a 72.29 stroke average. His six top-10 finishes are the most by a Bradley men's golfer in a season since Andy Mickelson (6) in 2002-03.
Cox tied junior Bobby Jacobs (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) for 36th at last weekend's Hoosier Invitational. The most experienced player on the roster, Cox has played in the Bradley Invitational all three seasons and owns a 78.83 career stroke average at WeaverRidge.
Jacobs has posted a 75.00 stroke average in Bradley's last two tournaments and his 77.50 average this spring is almost a full stroke better than his fall average. Sophomore Matthew Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) shot a three-over par 75 in the opening round of last year's Bradley Invitational.
Following the Bradley Invitational, the Braves will head to Macomb, Ill., for the 44th annual Beu/Mussatto Invitational April 15 & 16 in the team's final tournament before the Missouri Valley Conference Championship later this month.
