Three Bison Break Par in Final Round as Men’s Golf Moves Up to 10th at Loyola Intercollegiate

Tuesday, February 27

Goodyear, Ariz. (Palm Valley GC)

All Day

Bucknell University

Loyola Intercollegiate

Three Bison Break Par in Final Round as Men’s Golf Moves Up to 10th at Loyola Intercollegiate

2/27/2024 6:27:00 PM | Men's Golf

RESULTS

GOODYEAR, Ariz. –Andres Barraza fired a 4-under-par 68, and Michael Rudnick and Alex Creamean also posted red numbers with a 69 and a 71, respectively, helping the Bucknell men's golf team move up to a 10th-place finish in a strong 20-team field at the Loyola Intercollegiate at Palm Valley GC.

After opening with a 294 team tally, the Bison followed with under-par rounds of 281-283 to finish at 6-under 858 for the week. That is tied for the third-best 54-hole total in team history, matching the 858 from the 2020 Loyola Invitational on the same golf course. In fact, four of the top eight 54-hole scores in team history have come in this event.

Barraza (6th) and Creamean (T-8th) both finished in the top-10 in a field of 116 players. Creamean was the story of the day in Monday's second round, when he fired a school-record 64 with seven birdies and an eagle. The freshman made four more birdies on Tuesday, and with rounds of 74-64-71 was one of five players tied for eighth place at 7-under 209. Creamean has now broken par in nine of his last 12 rounds dating back to the fall season, and his 64 was the low round of the entire tournament.

Overshadowed by Creamean's historic second round was Barraza's outstanding 67 in which he made eight birdies. He put six more on the card in the final round, including three in a row at holes 7-8-9, on the way to his third straight under-par tally. His 10-under 206 (71-67-68) was good for solo sixth place, only four shots off the lead, and his 22 birdies for the week led the field.

Rudnick finished strong with a season-best 69. He made five birdies with only two bogeys on the day, and he finished at 4-over for the tournament. Bucknell also counted a 75 from James Robbins, while James Key's 76 was discarded. Lyman Brackett, playing as an individual, made his third eagle in two days and his second in a row at the par-5 14th hole, and he finished with a 74. Brackett was the only player in the field to make three eagles.

North Dakota State finished a whopping 40-under-par for the tournament, posting rounds of 275-275-274 for a 54-hole total of 824. Northern Colorado and Loyola tied for second at 839 (-25), while Marshall (848) and Howard (849) rounded out the top 10.

Bucknell sat in 19th place after the first round, but vaulted to 10th by going 12-under as a team over the final two rounds. The Bison finished just one stroke behind Gonzaga and Drake for T-8th.

North Dakota State's Jake Skarperud was the medalist at 14-under 202. His final round 66 was the low round of the day and gave him the come-from-behind win. NDSU's Nate Adams, Loyola's Michael Crowley, and Delaware's Arsit Areephun all tied for second at 12-under.

The Bison will be back in action on March 11-12 at the Bash at the Beach, hosted by Appalachian State in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.