Bucknell University Athletics
Patriot League Men's Golf Championship Comes to Bucknell Golf Club this Weekend
4/26/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 26, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's golf team will have home-course advantage as the 2012 Patriot League Championship returns to the Bucknell Golf Club this weekend. The league's seven men's golf-playing schools will tackle 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Admission is free all weekend. Fans can also follow live scoring at GolfStat.com.
At the Patriot League Championship teams enter six players and count the best four scores in each round. Bison head coach Jim Cotner has penciled in a lineup featuring one senior, three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. Not much separates the group, as all six have 2011-12 scoring averages ranging from 76.4 to 77.8.
Pete Scialabba.
Szmadzinski is coming off a strong showing at the Navy Invitational last week, capped off by a terrific round of 75 in brutal weather conditions. Szmadzinski's season scoring average of 76.4 is the best on the team, just ahead of Hartman's 76.8. Stitzer is next at 77.4, followed by Bachman and Bernard at 77.7 and Scialabba at 77.8
The Bison opened the 2011-12 campaign at home at their annual Bucknell Invitational, and Stitzer was the team's low player there. His 1-under 69 in the final round was the best on the squad, and it gave him a T-8th finish.
Bucknell has won the Patriot League title three times, in 2006, 2007 and 2009. The 2007 championship came at the Bucknell Golf Club, in fairly convincing fashion. However since winning the 2009 title at Navy, the Bison have finished fifth in each of the last two seasons.
Bucknell shot 900 over three rounds in last year's tournament at Navy. Stitzer was the team's low man as a freshman, finishing T-13th with rounds of 75-76-72. Hartman (16th) and Bernard (T-35th) also made their Patriot League Tournament debuts last season. Bachman's best PL finish in his three previous attempts is T-17th last year. This will be the first PL appearance for Szmadzinski and Scialabba.
The Patriot League Championship has been contested previously at Bucknell in 1994, 2000, 2005 and 2007. Army set a tournament record with an 860 total here in 2005, while Bucknell's second-round 282 that year is the tournament record for 18 holes.
Army is the defending Patriot League champion. The Black Knights shot 870 last season to claim the title by four shots over host Navy. Last year's medalist, Pete Krembel of Army, has graduated, but seven of the other nine 2011 All-Patriot Leaguers are back.
This weekend's winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals.
