Men’s Golf Finishes 12th At NCAA Bryan Regional

NCAA Bryan Regional Final Results

Men's Golf 5/16/2018 3:58:00 PM

BRYAN, Texas -- Junior Drake Bushong tied for 28th at four-over par 220, finishing out play with a two-over 74, and the Bradley Men's Golf team wrapped up the 2017-18 season with a 12th-place showing in the 13-team field at the NCAA Bryan (TX) Regional Wednesday.

The Braves shot 301 as a team in Wednesday's final round, two shots better than Tuesday's effort, and finished 12th overall at 901. Bradley finished three shots better than 13th-place San Francisco, which entered the tournament ranked 47th in the latest Golfstat rankings, and four shots back of 50th-ranked Georgia which was 11^th overall at 897.

Tournament-host Texas A&M (837) came into the regional as the top ranked team in the field at #2 and lived up to its ranking by winning the team title by nine strokes over second-place Clemson (846). Baylor (857), UCLA (866) and Kentucky (874) rounded out the top five in the tournament to earn spots in next week's NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. Ole Miss was sixth overall at 877 to miss a spot in the NCAA Championship field by three shots.

Bushong entered the day tied for 25th and closed out the tournament with a two-over 74 at the par-72 Traditions Golf Club Wednesday, firing a trio of birdies on the final day. He tied for 28th overall at 220 (+4) to pace the Braves during the three-day tournament and the 2018 MVC Championship medalist posted a 73.67 stroke average in the spring. His 74.87 season average was second on the squad in 2017-18 and ranks 14th among Bradley season marks.

Senior Ethan Brue carded a five-over 77 in his final round as a Brave and was 49th overall in the individual standings at 224. Brue's final round 77 was his 33rd consecutive sub-80 effort, which ranks as the second longest streak in school history, as he finished his time on The Hilltop with the lowest career stroke average (73.31) in Bradley history. He was one over through eight holes Wednesday, after seven pars during the opening stretch on the back nine.

Brue broke Lyle Burns' (2014-16) previous career stroke average mark of 73.79 by nearly half a stroke. In addition, Brue finished the year with a team-best 73.18 season average, which is third among BU season records.

Junior Michael Mounce was one-under on the front nine to finish, turning in eight pars and a birdie on the par-4, 387-yard fourth hole. He opened the day with a birdie on the par-5, 10th, but was sitting at four-over at the turn and finished at three-over 75 for the day. Mounce tied for 61st in the field at 228.

Redshirt senior Zach Jewell was one shot behind Mounce in a tie for 63rd (229), posting a final round 75. Three-over through the first three holes, Jewell strung together six consecutive pars to wrap up the back nine and was even on the front thanks to birdies on the par-4 first hole and the par-3 seventh. Jewell wrapped up his time at Bradley with the seventh-best career stroke average (75.51) in BU history.

Senior Matthew Specht rounded out the lineup for the Braves with an 80 in his last round at Bradley and was 74th overall at 236. Specht was two-over through seven holes and had a solid finish with three consecutive pars to close. His career stroke average of 76.96 ranks 19th all-time on The Hilltop.

Bradley is expected to return six letterwinners from its 2018 MVC Championship team in 2018-19. The only three-time All-MVC performer in program history, Bushong is the top returner for the Braves.

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