Men's Golf Faces Strong Field at Yale's Macdonald Cup

Setting The Scene
What: 46th Annual Macdonald Cup, hosted by Yale
When: Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 24-25 (54 holes)
Where: Par-70, 6,795-yard Yale Golf Course, New Haven, Conn.
The Field: 12 teams (Bucknell, Fairfield, Fordham, Hartford, Harvard, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn, Princeton, Richmond, St. John's, Yale)

Live Stats: GolfStat.com

About the Bison

Bucknell goes up against a tough field at the Macdonald Cup this weekend, with two teams from the Big Ten, four from the Ivy League, two from the Atlantic 10, and one from the Big East on the course at Yale.
The Bison are coming off a ninth-place finish at the Cornell/Temple Invitational last weekend at the 1912 Club in the Philadelphia area. Bucknell was near the top of the pack after a first-round 287 but slipped down the leaderboard after a second-round 303.
Blake Wisdom's 3-under 67 on Saturday was Bucknell's best of the weekend. Wisdom made five birdies and an eagle before finishing one shot off his career best and two off the school record. Wisdom finished T-9th and was named the Patriot League Golfer of the Week on Wednesday. It was his fourth career PL weekly honor.
Widsom has shot even par or better in three of his five rounds thus far this fall, and he leads the team with a 72.2 scoring average. Jackson Bussell, who was T-6th at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial at Colgate to open the season, is right behind at 72.8.
Wisdom and Bussell are both in the lineup this weekend at Yale, and they will be joined by sophomore Michael Rudnick and freshmen James Key and Andres Barraza. Jack Gardner will play as an individual.
Key is off to a strong start to his collegiate career. He has shot 75 or better in every round thus far with a low of 72. His 73.8 average is third-best on the team. Barraza debuted last weekend with a first-round 71 before posting a 78 in the second round.
Rudnick, who finished T-6th at the 2022 Patriot League Championship to earn all-league honors, shot 73-75 last weekend as an individual and is in the top five this week at Yale.
The Bison returned eight of their 10 rostered players from last season, including five of the six who teed it up at the Patriot League Championship at Steel Club. Jason Lohwater is the lone graduation loss from that PL squad. Lohwater was one of the team's top players all season, as his 2021-22 scoring average of 74.0 was second-best on the team.
Bussell's 73.2 full-season average was the best on the team a year ago, and he picked up his second career win at the Howard Bison Invitational. Bussell posted a final-round 68 at the Patriot League Championship to earn all-conference honors with a T-6th finish.
Wisdom posted four below-par rounds last spring on the way to a 73.3 average, and this summer he qualified for the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championship. In his U.S. Am qualifier at White Eagle GC in Illinois, he fired a final-round 64 to grab a share of medalist honors. This was Wisdom's first time in the U.S. Amateur field after qualifying as an alternate at Oakmont in 2021.

The Bison at the Macdonald Cup

The Bison has competed at the Macdonald Cup in four of the last five years, with the 2020 edition canceled due to COVID-19. Bucknell has also made numerous appearances at Yale's spring tournament through the years.
At the Macdonald Cup, the Bison placed 10th in 2017, ninth in 2018, fourth in 2019, and 11th last year.
Host Yale is the defending champion. The Bulldogs compiled a 6-over 846 last season to hold off Michigan by four strokes. Bucknell shot 894 (297-296-301) and was led by Jackson Bussell, who finished T-11th with rounds of 71-71-73.
Bucknell won Yale's spring invitational in April 2016 with rounds of 295-300. John Edler was the runner-up individually, while Connor O'Brien (T-9th, 73-76) also finished in the top 10. The Bison were also runner-up there in the spring of 2019.
Bucknell played at Yale six times between 1972-80, twice at the Eastern Championships and four times in Yale's fall invitational. The team's best finish was eighth in Yale's event in the fall of 1978.

Up Next

After the Macdonald Cup, the Bison will take a week off before hosting its annual fall invitational on Oct. 9-11 at the Bucknell Golf Club. This year's Bucknell Invitational will feature one of its largest fields ever, with 19 teams participating.

Men's Golf Faces Strong Field at Yale's Macdonald Cup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andres Barraza

Jackson Bussell

Jack Gardner

James Key

Jason Lohwater

Connor O'Brien

Michael Rudnick

Blake Wisdom

Men's Golf Faces Strong Field at Yale's Macdonald Cup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andres Barraza

Jackson Bussell

Jack Gardner

James Key

Jason Lohwater

Connor O'Brien

Michael Rudnick

Blake Wisdom

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