Men’s Golf Sweeps Valley Titles

2018 MVC Championship Final Results

Men's Golf 4/24/2018 3:36:00 PM

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Junior Drake Bushong claimed the medalist title and Bradley Men's Golf boasted the top three finishers as the Braves wrapped up the first Missouri Valley Conference team title in program history Tuesday at the par-72 Dalhousie Country Club.

Bushong became the first Brave to win the Valley's individual title since Dave Wettlaufer was the Valley medalist in both 1984 & 1985 and is just the third player in program history to win the MVC individual crown, joining an exclusive list which includes 1951 co-champion Bo Togikawa. In addition to Bushong's victory, Bradley earned its first MVC team championship by an impressive 16 strokes over second place Southern Illinois to earn the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1955.

"It was a solid effort all around," said Bradley head coach Jeff Roche, who was named the 2017-18 MVC Coach of the Year. "Obviously Drake (Bushong) played phenomenal and couldn't ask for much more with Michael (Mounce) and Ethan (Brue) tying for second. Zach (Jewell) and Matt's (Specht) rounds yesterday made the difference and helped get the early lead. It was just a great team effort and I'm very happy for this group."

Bradley led from wire-to-wire, holding a six-shot lead after an opening round 298 Monday morning and stretched the advantage to 19 strokes thanks to a one-over par 289 in Monday's second round. The Braves cruised to a 15-shot victory, closing out the tournament with a round of 296 Tuesday. Bradley's three-round total of 883 was the lowest score for the Braves in program history at the MVC Championship, breaking the previous mark of 897 turned in at the 2014 league championship.

For the first time since Wichita State swept the top three individual spots in 2013, Bradley had the top three on the individual leaderboard. Bushong led the group with a one-over par 217 to post the lowest 54-hole score by a Brave at the MVC Championship, surpassing the previous mark of 218 shot by Tim Sweborg at the 1966 Valley Championship in 1966.

One of four Braves to birdie the par-5, 540-yard 18th hole on the final day, Bushong carded a 72 Tuesday as he earned his fourth career individual title in addition to becoming the first three-time All-MVC performer in school history.

Senior Ethan Brue and Michael Mounce tied for second, three shots behind Bushong at 220. Brue, who earned All-MVC honors for the second consecutive year, matched his second round score with a one-over 73. Mounce also matched his second round with a 74 on the final day of play to tie Brue in the standings and earn All-Valley honors.

Senior Matthew Specht fired the first of four birdies on #18 for the Braves to conclude a third-round 77 as he finished 18th overall at 230. Fellow senior Zach Jewell rounded out the team scoring for Bradley with an 82 and tied for 28th in the field at 234.

In addition to the All-MVC honors, Mounce was named the MVC's Elite 17 Award winner. The award honors the highest achievement in academics and athletics by a student-athlete in each MVC-sponsored sport. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Academic Recognition Award Program, the MVC Elite 17 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site at each of the MVC's 17 team championships. An entrepreneurship major, Mounce owns a 3.93 cumulative grade point average.

Bradley was fifth in the tournament with 29 birdies, but made up for it with 179 pars during the three rounds to finish with 22 more pars than any other team.

The NCAA Regional pairings will be announced Wednesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. (CST) on the Golf Channel. NCAA Regional sites are a Kissimmee, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, Norman, Okla., Stockton, Calif., and College Station, Texas, and will be held May 14-16.

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