Bradley University Athletics

Men’s Golf Returns To Crusader Collegiate

Southern Illinois University

Live Scoring

Men's Golf 9/14/2018 11:00:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Men's Golf has had success at the Crusader Collegiate over the past two seasons, winning the event in 2016 and finishing second in the tournament last fall, and will look to continue that trend when the Braves play in the 2018 Crusader Collegiate Monday and Tuesday.

The Crusader Collegiate has served as the season opener for Bradley each of the last two years, but the Braves already have one tournament in the books with BU finishing ninth of 14 teams at the Golfweek Program Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C., earlier this week.

This year's Crusader Collegiate has been expanded to 13 teams after having just four teams in both 2016 and 2017. Missouri Valley Conference rivals Loyola, Northern Iowa and Valparaiso (Brown & Gold teams) help make up a field which also includes 2017 champion Wright State, former Valley rival Creighton, in-state opponents Chicago State and Western Illinois along with Detroit, Green Bay, North Dakota and Purdue Fort Wayne.

Monday's action at the par-72 Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, Ind., gets underway Monday with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Tuesday's final round will have tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. BradleyBraves.com will have links to live scoring via Birdiefire.com for all three rounds.

The Braves open the 2018 Fall schedule with four consecutive weeks of competition with the Crusader Collegiate marking the second of five fall tournaments on the slate. Bradley kicked off the season with a seven-under par 281 at the True Blue Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the first round of the Golfweek Program Challenge and went on to card the eighth-lowest 54-hole team score in program history (863).

Senior Drake Bushong opened the 2018-19 season on a strong night, tying for 15th at the Golfweek Program Challenge with his lowest 54-hole score (213) since his freshman year. Bushong, who had rounds of 72, 72 and three-under 69 to open his final season on The Hilltop, was sixth at the Crusader Collegiate in 2016 and tied for 12th at last year's event. He owns a 75.17 career stroke average at Sand Creek Country Club, which will serve as the site for the 2019 MVC Women's Golf Championship next spring.

Fellow senior Michael Mounce tied the lowest round in program history with a six-under 66 to open the fall schedule and tied for 24th at the Golfweek Challenge. He has played in the Crusader Collegiate as an individual each of the last two years and tied for third overall last year. Mounce owns a 76.17 stroke average at Sand Creek after wrapping up last fall's tournament with a pair of 72's.

Junior Charles Jahn also had a strong start to the 2018-19 season, matching the lowest three-round total of his career (217) in South Carolina earlier this week. Jahn fired a career-best two-under 70 in the first round of the Golfweek Challenge and went on to tie for 33rd overall. He tied Bushong for 12th last year at the Crusader Collegiate.

Bradley follows up the Crusader Collegiate with the Derek Dolenc Invitational in Madison, Ill., Sept. 24 & 25.

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