Bucknell University Athletics
Lohwater to Play in Junior PGA Championship, Waddell Qualifies for U.S. Amateur
7/25/2019 11:29:00 AM | Men's Golf
More Information on the Junior PGA Championship
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Each year since 1976, the Junior PGA Championship features the top future stars in sport of golf. Past champions include the likes of Willie Wood, Billy Andrade, David Toms and Trevor Immelman. Past runners-up include household names like Jordan Spieth (twice), Tony Finau and Tiger Woods. This year's field promises to be loaded as well, and it will include Jason Lohwater, a rising sophomore on the Bucknell men's golf team.
Lohwater will be one of 144 players teeing it up in search of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy at the 44th Boys Junior PGA Championship at Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford, Conn., starting on July 30. The 72-hole, stroke-play championship will have a cut after 36 holes to the low 70 players plus ties. Players cannot be older than 18 years of age on Aug. 2, 2019.Lohwater, a Rochester, N.Y., native, qualified after finishing as the runner-up at the Western New York PGA Junior Championship at Glen Oak GC on June 28. Lohwater posted a sensational bogey-free, 9-under-par 135 with rounds of 66 and 69. Jude Cummings of Pittsford, N.Y., carded a final-round 63 to finish at 10-under and edge Lohwater by one shot for medalist honors. But Lohwater comfortably earned the second qualifier spot, coming in five strokes ahead of the third-place finisher.
Lohwater's opening round at Glen Oak was highlighted by a pair of eagles at the par-5 11th and 18th holes, as well as two other birdies. He made three birdies and 15 pars in his second-round 69. Lohwater was the only player in the field not to have a bogey on his card over 36 holes.
Lohwater is coming off a strong rookie season at Bucknell. He logged a 75.8 stroke average over the fall and spring seasons, and he earned a spot in the lineup at the Patriot League Championships, where he finished T-20th. Lohwater's low round was a 3-under 67 at the Bucknell Invitational in the fall.
More information on the 2019 U.S. Amateur ChampionshipMeanwhile, one of the most decorated players in Bucknell men's golf history will be headed back to the U.S. Amateur Championship. Charlie Waddell '07, who was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame last fall, was the medalist at his U.S. Amateur qualifier at Mistwood G.C. in Illinois on July 11.
Waddell posted a 7-under 137 (68-69) to win the tournament by one shot over Daniel Anfield and Henry Angier. All three qualified for the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship, which gets underway on Aug. 12 at the famed Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in North Carolina.
Jackson Bussell, an incoming freshman at Bucknell, also played in the qualifier at Mistwood and performed well with rounds of 77-71. He finished T-26th in a field of 90 players, and his second-round 71, highlighted by three birdies in his final five holes, was one of the best scores in the field. Bussell is currently playing the Chick Evans Junior Amateur match-play event at Itasca CC, and he has advanced to the semifinals after winning his first three matches. Bussell, the No. 5 seed, takes on top-seeded Danny Fisher in the semis.
Waddell was the Patriot League champion and Golfer of the Year in both 2005 and 2006, and he remains the only two-time medalist in league history. In his four years at Bucknell, Waddell finished sixth, first, first and third at the Patriot League Championship, and he was the No. 1 player on title-winning teams in 2006 and 2007.
Waddell will be playing in the U.S. Amateur Championship for the fourth year in a row and fifth time in the last six years. He also appeared in last year's event at Pebble Beach, in 2017 at Riviera CC, in 2016 at Oakland Hills CC, and in 2014 at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Waddell shot 67-71-71 for a then league-record 54-hole score of 209 (-1) at the 2005 Patriot League Championship. His spectacular birdie on the 17th hole of the final round at the Bucknell Golf Club sent him to a one-stroke victory over teammate Ben Pellicani. One year later at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course, Waddell compiled a 3-under-par 210 (69-70-71) to repeat as champion by a whopping 10 strokes, while sending the Bison to their very first Patriot League title in the sport of men's golf, and their first NCAA team appearance since 1961. He settled for a third-place individual finish as a senior in 2007, but his final-round 68 helped clinch a second-straight team championship and NCAA appearance.
A nominee for the prestigious Byron Nelson Award, Waddell graduated as the school record-holder for season (73.4) and career (74.9) scoring average. He won four career tournaments and was runner-up four times.
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