Season Preview: Bucknell Men's Golf Debuts at Colgate this Weekend

Saturday, September 7

Hamilton, N.Y. (Seven Oaks CC)

All Day

Bucknell University

Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational

Season Preview: Bucknell Men's Golf Debuts at Colgate this Weekend

9/5/2019 7:49:00 PM | Men's Golf

Setting The Scene
What: 2019 Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational, hosted by Colgate
When: Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 7-8 (54 holes)
Where: Par-72, 6,834-yard Seven Oaks GC, Hamilton, N.Y.
The Field: 16 teams (Army, Binghamton, Bucknell, Colgate, Columbia, Connecticut, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lafayette, Lehigh, Rhode Island, Rider, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure, Villanova and Yale)

Live Stats: GolfStat.com

About the Bison

Bucknell makes its traditional season-opening trip to Hamilton, N.Y., for the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational this weekend.
This is the first of six fall events for the Bison, who will also appear in tournaments hosted by Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale and Lehigh, in addition to hosting the annual Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 13-14.
The Bison must replace a terrific, four-man senior class that was led by former All-Patriot League players J.P. Raftery, Connor O'Brien and Jubal Early. Raftery was a three-time all-star and two-time runner-up, and he graduated with a school-record 74.0 career scoring average.
The good news for the Bison is they bring back three of the league's top returning players in Peter Bradbeer, Chris Tanabe and Jason Lohwater, along with a talented freshman quartet that seems capable of filling the large void left by the Class of 2019.
Three of those newcomers – Jack Gardner, Blake Wisdom and Jackson Bussell – made the travel squad for the trip to Colgate. Gardner and Wisdom join Bradbeer, Lohwater and Tanabe in the five-man Bison lineup, while Bussell will play as an individual.
The Bison competed in a 54-hole team "Q School" event last weekend, and Bradbeer posted a 1-under-par 209 (70-71-68) to edge Lohwater (72-71-67) by one stroke for the title. Gardner solidified his spot in the lineup with a sensational opening-round 66, followed by 72-75 for a 213 total. Tanabe bookended a pair of 69s around a second-round 76 to place fourth at 214, with Wisdom taking fifth at 216 (71-71-74). Bussell and fellow freshman Josh Holtschlag had a heated battle for the No. 6 spot. The both shot 221 over 54 holes, remained tied after a three-hole playoff, and then Bussell prevailed on the fourth extra hole.
The Bison averaged a 296.4 team score in 2018-19. They won the Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge last fall, which was one of seven top-five team finishes. Bucknell placed fourth at the Patriot League Championship.
Tanabe (74.6) and Bradbeer (74.7) had the top scoring averages among returning players.

Bucknell at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational

Bucknell has competed in Colgate's fall tournament every year since 2002 (except for 2011, when the event was rained out). Prior to 2002, Colgate and Cornell ran a combined event for several years, utilizing both schools' courses.
The Bison have fared well in this event, winning it in 2004 and 2006 while finishing in the top four in 11 of 16 years. Brian Bartow is Bucknell's lone individual champion here. He won the Colgate Invitational in 2009.
Last year Bucknell finished T-11th of 17 teams in this event, posting team scores of 309-291-302. Lohwater (76-71-72) and Tanabe (77-70-72) were the top Bison finishers in T-14th.
The 2019 Patriot League Championship was also held at Seven Oaks, and Tanabe again led the way with a T-7th finish and rounds of 74-72-73.

Up Next

Bucknell returns to Upstate New York next week, as it travels to Ithaca for the Cornell Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.

Below is a more detailed season preview heading into the 2019-20 season:

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Bucknell head men's golf coach Michael Binney had a special place in his heart for last year's outstanding senior class of Jubal Early, Connor O'Brien, Ashton Radvansky and J.P. Raftery. After all, this was Binney's very first recruiting class at Bucknell, and that group went on to play some spectacular golf over the ensuing four seasons.

Three of the four were All-Patriot League players, with Raftery earning that distinction three times, and Raftery (74.0), O'Brien (75.2) and Early (76.4) rank first, fourth and 11th, respectively, on Bucknell's career scoring average chart.

Given that heavy graduation hit, one might expect Binney to temper his expectations for 2019-20, but that is hardly the case.

"I actually think this is the most competitive team, top to bottom, that I have had here in six years," said Binney. "Last year's seniors are almost irreplaceable in terms of what they meant to the program, but I feel that we have three returning guys who are capable of winning a conference championship, and four freshmen that have the potential to be just as talented as the guys we lost. They are very different players style-wise, but I think their aggregate talent is as good or better than last year's seniors."

Peter Bradbeer is the team's lone senior, and he has been a top player since joining the program. He compiled a 74.7 average a year ago (74.1 in the fall), and he just missed the school record with a 5-under 66 at the Cornell Invitational. Bradbeer's 74.9 career average is third-best in program history, just percentage points behind Raftery and Hall-of-Famer Charlie Waddell. He was an All-Patriot League honoree after a T-6th finish as a sophomore in 2018.

"Peter comes into his senior season with a great mindset," said Binney. "He knows what he needs to do to be considered one of the best players Bucknell has ever had, and that is to win a tournament and help us contend for a league title. He has all the tools to do it."

The Bison also feature just one junior in Chris Tanabe, who is in the midst of a sensational 2019 calendar year. Last spring, Tanabe earned All-Patriot League honors for the first time with a T-7th finish at Colgate, posting 74-72-73 in tough weather conditions. Four weeks earlier, he won his first collegiate tournament with a one-stroke victory at Lafayette's Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Challenge (69-72, -3).

And then over the summer, Tanabe won the 108th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. Propelled by an incredible 28 on the opening nine of his second round, Tanabe posted a 5-under 205 over 54 holes for a two-shot win over Nate Menon of national-champion Stanford and Kansas State's Kyle Vance.

"Chris is coming off a phenomenal summer where he won the Pennsylvania Amateur going up against some national-caliber collegiate players," said Binney. "Chris realizes that he can play with anybody in the country on his best day. He is capable of winning the Patriot League title and carrying his team to a win. He's got good players all around him, so he doesn't have to carry that burden by himself, but there is no limit to what he can accomplish in golf."

Jason Lohwater and Dylan Ford are the returning sophomores. Lohwater is also looking to keep the momentum rolling after a strong summer. He qualified for the Junior PGA Championship in Connecticut and made the cut after a second-round 68. Lohwater finished T-69th in a field of 144 players. He qualified by shooting a bogey-free 135 (66-69) over 36 holes at Glen Oak GC.

In his rookie season at Bucknell, Lohwater averaged 75.8 and made the lineup for the Patriot League Championship, where he finished T-20th (76-75-72) at Colgate. His low round was a 3-under 67 at the Bucknell Invitational.

"Jason is a very cerebral, analytical golfer," said Binney. "He has really embraced the mental aspects of the game, and he is able to stay positive even when he is playing poorly. Jason's best golf is as good as anyone on the team. Consistency over two or three rounds is the next step for him. I'm really encouraged by his Q-School performance, where he shot 72-71-67 and finished second to Peter by one shot."

Ford battled his swing a bit in 2018-19 and was limited to two stroke-play events in the fall. But Binney is encouraged by some swing changes that he made over the summer, and his ball-striking has been noticeably better leading into the start of the season.

"Dylan had some swing issues as a freshman, but he worked really hard over the summer," Binney noted. "Two of his three rounds at Q-School were good, but the best part is that he was driving the ball in the fairway on a more consistent basis. I am very optimistic about Dylan's game, and I think he is going to contribute this year."

Jackson Bussell, Jack Gardner, Josh Holtschlag and Blake Wisdom are the four newcomers, and Binney expects them all to be main contributors over the next four years.

Gardner, a highly decorate junior player out of Northern California, shot 66 with a hole-in-one in his first round of Q-School last weekend. He followed with 72-75 to finish third behind Bradbeer and Lohwater, and he will make his collegiate debut at Colgate this week.

"Jack is not our longest hitter, but he is as straight as you can get off the tee," said Binney. "He rarely misses a fairway, which is how he shot that 66. I can't wait to see what is in store for him over the next four years."

Wisdom, a first team all-state player from Wisconsin, shot 71-71-74 at Q-School to make the five-man team for Colgate this week. He was also a big-time prep player, qualifying for the state high school tournament and winning his conference championship all four years. Wisdom made the final 16 at the Wisconsin State Amateur after shooting 73-68-67 in the stroke-play portion.

"Blake is without a doubt one of the hardest workers on the team," said Binney. "He just loves to hit balls on the range. He is always out here. He has a very athletic swing and is a very straight and consistent ball-striker."

Also new to the squad are Holtschlag, a native of Brentwood, Tenn., and the diminutive but long-hitting Bussell from Lincolnshire, Ill. Bussell was an Illinois Class 3A state champion, and a five-time tournament winner at Stevenson High School, while Holtschlag was a two-time state runner-up and three-time regional champion at Franklin Road Academy.

"Jackson might be the smallest guy in this year's freshman class, but he is the longest of the four, and by a wide margin," said Binney. "He was affected a bit by a finger infection during Q-School, but he still earned the sixth spot to travel to Colgate. Jackson can really think his way around the golf course. He is an auto-pilot type player, where he plays fast and stress-free."

"Josh is also very easy-going, almost laid-back in his approach," said Binney. "He is a very consistent ball-striker with a right-to-left game. He is not bothered by anything on the golf course. If he misses a putt or hits a bad shot, he just shrugs and goes on to the next one."

Binney is looking for his team to start building confidence and momentum this fall, when the Bison play in events hosted by Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale and Lehigh, in addition to the Bucknell Invitational in mid-October.

"We want to do well these tournaments in order to earn invitations to some bigger events, which will help our guys realize that they can play with anyone," said Binney. "The talent level is just incredible across our league right now, so you really need to set your sights on lower scores if you want to compete for a Patriot League title. If you want to win tournaments these days, team scores over 285 or 290 are usually not going to put you in contention."

Had the Q-School been an actual tournament, this week's five-man lineup would have posted team scores of 276-285-278 for a 54-hole total of 839 (-1). The 276 would have tied the 18-hole school record, and the 839 would have been a 54-hole school record by six shots.

So the talent is clearly there, but now the task is to carry that play into the thick of the season.