Men's Golf Finishes Up Fall Season at Lehigh Invitational

Friday, October 19

Bethlehem, Pa. (Saucon Valley CC)

All Day

Bucknell University

Lehigh Invitational

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Golf Finishes Up Fall Season at Lehigh Invitational

10/18/2018 3:51:00 PM | Men's Golf

Bison have won this event in 2 of last 3 years

What: 2018 Lehigh Invitational
When: Friday-Saturday, Oct. 19-20 (36 holes)
Where: Par-72, 7,091-yard Saucon Valley Country Club (Grace Course), Bethlehem, Pa.
The Field: 13 teams (Bucknell, Colgate, Fairfield, Fordham, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Iona, Lafayette, Lehigh, Monmouth, Navy, Siena, St. John's.)

Live Stats: GolfStat.com

About the Bison

Bucknell wraps up the fall campaign at the Lehigh Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Bison have performed well at this event in recent years, winning it in 2015 and 2016 before finishing in second place last year.
Last time out, the Bison finished third in a field of 18 teams at the Bucknell Invitational, narrowly trailing Temple and Wayne State. The Bison posted team scores of 284-289.
J.P. Raftery was the low Bison at the Bucknell Invitational with a 1-under 139 (68-71). He placed fourth overall. Connor O'Brien (68-75) was next, finishing T-14th. The low round of the week for Bucknell was a first-round, 3-under 67 from freshman Jason Lohwater, who was playing for the "B" squad. Lohwater finished T-11th with a 142 total (67-75). Fellow freshman Carter Cook had a strong finish, shooting even-par 70 on the heels of a 75.
The Bison have competed in five tournaments thus far, including a win at the Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge in Vermont on Sept. 22-23.
O'Brien has the team's best scoring average at 72.0, followed closely by Chris Tanabe (72.8), Raftery (73.2) and Peter Bradbeer (73.6).
This week, coach Michael Binney will line up Lohwater, O'Brien, Cook, Bradbeer and Tanabe, with Jubal Early playing as an individual. The Bison will be paired with Patriot League rivals Colgate and Lafayette.

Bucknell at the Lehigh Invitational

Bucknell won this event in two of the last three seasons, with one victory coming in dominant fashion and the other in a playoff. In 2015, Bucknell ran away with the Lehigh Invitational, winning by 14 strokes over the runner-up Mountain Hawks. A year later, Bucknell and Lehigh were tied after 36 holes with 609 strokes apiece. The Bison then holed four pars on the sudden-death playoff hole to capture the tournament for the second year in a row.
Bucknell also won the Lehigh Invitational in September of 1974.
Last season, Bucknell was runner-up at Saucon Valley in a field of 12 teams. Connor O'Brien led the way with a 7th-place finish, shooting 76-71. The Bison also counted a 73 from Jubal Early and 75s from J.P. Raftery and Chris Tanabe.
The Bison last played at Saucon Valley CC last April at the Patriot League Championship. Bucknell posted team scores of 296-307-305 and finished in fifth place. Peter Bradbeer (69-81-74), Raftery (75-74-78) and O'Brien (75-77-76) all finished in the top 10.

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