Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championship
Bucknell Women's Golf Finishes Strong, But Edged by Three Shots by Lehigh for PL Title
4/21/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 21, 2013
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The inaugural Patriot League Women's Golf Tournament was not decided until the final few holes, and in the end it was Lehigh narrowly escaping with a three-stroke victory over Bucknell on Sunday at the Bucknell Golf Club. Junior Bridget Wilcox closed with a 4-over-par 74 and was the individual runner-up, and she was joined on the All-Patriot League Team by classmates Lauren Bernard (T-3rd) and Kasha Scott (5th).
Lehigh began the day with a five-shot lead over the Bison, and the Mountain Hawks stretched that margin to 11 strokes early in Sunday's final round. Bucknell kept chipping away, and with only two groups left on the course the lead was down to three. Chelsea Michalek, representing Lehigh in the final pairing, stuck her approach to four feet on the 18th hole. She missed the putt, but she matched Wilcox's par to clinch both medalist honors for herself and the team title for Lehigh.
Wilcox opened the tournament with a 73 on Saturday morning before slipping to an 85 in the afternoon. But on Sunday she was back in top form. She drained about a 40-foot putt for birdie at No. 8, and then knocked her approach at No. 12 over the water to about 18 inches, setting up another birdie. After a 3-putt bogey at 14, Wilcox finished with four straight pars to finish with the 74.
Wilcox shot 232 over 54 holes, five shots behind Michalek.
Scott was even better on the back nine. She posted a 1-under 33 coming in, and including a par at the ninth, she played her last 10 holes in 1-under after a slow start. Scott shot 76 for the round and her 237 total put her alone in fifth place.
Bernard turned in a bold performance, gutting it out through 54 holes over two days despite a painful foot injury that had kept her out of every spring tournament until this one. After shooting 81-79 on Saturday, Bernard carded a 75 on Sunday to finish in sole possession of third place. Bernard birdied the seventh and ninth holes and made nothing worse than bogey on the day.
Emily Timmons carded her third straight 82 to finish in ninth place. Bucknell's two first-year players, Jen Lee and Meghan Garanich, both shot 84. Timmons birdied the par-3 16th, and Lee and Garanich both made birdies as the par-5 ninth. Bucknell had three birdies on No. 9 on Sunday and the team was 2-under on that hole.
Lehigh shot 941 for the tournament, just ahead of Bucknell's 944. Navy finished third at 1,054 and Holy Cross was fourth at 1,116.
In addition to the all-league citations for Bucknell's junior trio of Wilcox, Bernard and Scott, Bison head coach Kevin Jamieson earned the first Patriot League Coach of the Year Award. Bucknell Golf Club head pro Brian Kelly was presented a framed Patriot League flag in recognition of Bucknell hosting the inaugural Patriot League Women's Golf Championship.
