Men’s Golf Slips To 11th At Bryan Regional

Southern Illinois University

Men's Golf 5/15/2018 3:50:00 PM

BRYAN, Texas -- Junior Drake Bushong birdied four of the final seven holes to shoot three-under on the back nine and finished at even par for the day (72), while the Bradley Men's Golf team slipped to 11th in the team standings after two rounds of the NCAA Bryan (TX) Regional Tuesday.

The Braves were seventh in the team standings after an opening-round 297 Monday and currently sit in 11th overall at 600 after a second-round 303 during Tuesday's round at the par-72 Traditions Golf Club. Bradley is one shot behind 10th-place Mississippi State (599) and four back of ninth-place UNC-Wilmington (596). One of four teams to shoot under par in the second round, Northern Colorado surged from a tie for 12th to start the day into eighth at 593.

"Obviously it wasn't the day we were looking for," said Bradley men's golf head coach Jeff Roche. "The guys fought hard today and will look to rebound tomorrow to end the season on a high note."

San Francisco, which is ranked 47th in the Golfstat rankings, is four shots back of Bradley in 12th (604), and 50th-ranked Georgia rounds out the regional field in 13th at 605. Regional host and top-seed Texas A&M fired a nine-under par Tuesday and holds a one-shot lead on second-place Clemson (559). Baylor is 12 shots off the lead in third (570), while UCLA (4th - 576) and Ole Miss (5th - 579) round out the top five in the standings. South Carolina sits nine shots behind Ole Miss for the final spot in the NCAA Championship field in sixth at 587.

Bushong was three-over through 11 holes with nine pars, a bogey and a double bogey, before carding a birdie on the par-four 12th and following it up with another birdie on the par-four 13th. He would birdie three of the next four and close the round with birdies on four of the last seven to get back to even par (72). Bushong is tied for 25th in the field at two-over 146 and is four-under par on the back nine for the tournament heading into Wednesday's final round.

Senior Ethan Brue was Bradley's top performer with a one-over par 73 in Monday's opening round and followed it up with a two-over 74 Tuesday. Tied for 32nd overall, one stroke back of Bushong at 147, Brue had three second-round birdies and five bogey's.

Like Monday's opening round, junior Michael Mounce got off to a strong start and was even through eight holes. A bogey on #9 put Mounce at +1 at the turn for the second straight day and he went on to card a five-over 77 Tuesday. He is tied for 60th in the individual standings at 153.

Senior Zach Jewell had a birdie on the first hole and continued his trend of good play on the par-5's with a birdie on the par-5 fifth hole as he sat at one-under through eight holes. Jewell went on to shoot a second-round 80, however, and is tied for 64th (154).

Fellow senior Matthew Specht had a similar go of it as Jewell during Tuesday's round and was one-over through eight holes thanks to a birdie on the par-5 fifth hole. Specht matched Jewell's second-round 80 and is two shots behind his classmate at 156 in a tie for 71st.

Bradley will be paired with Mississippi State and San Francisco for the final round with the groups teeing off on the 10th hole Wednesday morning starting at 8:55 a.m.

Print Friendly Version