Bison Move Up on Final Day of Patriot League Championships; Bussell, Rudnick Earn All-PL Honors

Sunday, May 1

Hellertown, Pa. (Steel Club)

All Day

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championship

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Bison Move Up on Final Day of Patriot League Championships; Bussell, Rudnick Earn All-PL Honors

5/1/2022 5:31:00 PM | Men's Golf

RESULTS

HELLERTOWN, Pa. – Junior Jackson Bussell fired a career-best 4-under-par 68 to help the Bucknell men's golf team move up to a seventh-place finish at the Patriot League Championship, which concluded Sunday at Steel Club.

Bussell, who made four birdies and an eagle in his final round, equaled the low score in the championship. He bounced back nicely from an opening-round 80, finishing with 73-68 to move all the way up to a T-6th finish. Freshman Michael Rudnick followed up his second-round 71 with a 74, and he joined Bussell and two others at 221 total. The T-6th placement gives Bussell and Rudnick their first career All-Patriot League medals. Both were Second Team honorees.

Rudnick and Army's John Heckel Jr. tied for low freshman honors. Heckel was selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in a coaches' vote.

Bussell's 68 was tied for the fifth-best round by a Bucknell player at the Patriot League Championship. The only other 68 this week came from Loyola's Carlo Pizzano on Saturday. Pizzano ended up tied for the 54-hole lead with Lafayette's Ryan Tall, and then Tall won the championship with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Tall, who also birdied the 18th hole to get into the playoff, was voted Patriot League Player of the Year.

Loyola closed with a 3-under 285 to claim the team title by a 10-shot margin over host Lafayette. The Greyhounds tallied a 5-over 869 over 54 holes. Lafayette was second at 879, followed by Army (889), Lehigh (891), Colgate (891), Holy Cross (895), Bucknell (899), and Navy (901).

Bucknell's finishing 290 was the third-best team score on Sunday. The Bison started the day in eighth place but outscored Navy by nine strokes to pass the Midshipmen. Bucknell started the tournament slowly with a 311 composite but improved each day to a 298 and then to the 290.

While Bussell and Rudnick finished off their all-conference performances, Jack Gardner had his best round of the tournament with a 73. Blake Wisdom and Josh Holtschlag followed with 75s, and senior Jason Lohwater wrapped up an outstanding career with a 79.