Update from Head Men's Golf Coach Mike Binney -- May 2023
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Dear Bison Golf alumni, family, and friends,Â
In looking back at the month of April, the Bison Golf team has had a hectic month with three regular-season tournaments as well as this past weekend's Patriot League Championships. In early April, the team had its only off weekend, and they utilized it to get in as much outdoor work as possible to prepare for the spring's final push.
The first event in April was the Wildcat Invitational, held at LuLu Country Club just outside of Philadelphia. The Bison squad has played annually in Villanova's spring invitational over the years. The venue has undergone a few changes recently. Three years ago, during COVID, the event was moved from White Manor CC to Radnor Valley CC, where it was contested for two years before moving to LuLu CC this spring. The event was slightly different than usual as we played 27 holes on the first day and finished the remaining nine holes of the 36-hole contest on the final day. The course changed pins after 18 holes, and ½ the field played the front nine and ½ the field played the back nine and then flipped on the final day to finish the back nine of the final 18, making it a very tough challenge. If it sounds confusing, it was!
The team played very well and finished 4th in a 15-team field, including a (+2) performance from Jackson Bussell that garnered him a top-15 (T13) finish in the 94-player field, shooting scores of 74/70. Blake Wisdom narrowly missed a top-20 spot (T23) carding a (+4) score with rounds of 71/75. Overall, it was a strong performance by the Bison squad and gave us some positive mojo going into our next tilt, the RedHawk Invitational, played at the storied Pittsburgh Field Club and hosted by Miami (Ohio).
In the field were some of the best competitors that the Bison have faced all year, with the likes of Marquette, Richmond, Minnesota, George Washington, and North Dakota State University; all teams ranked higher than the Bison. In the 14-team field, the Bison squad was ranked only ahead of Eastern Kentucky and Ohio but came through with one of the year's strongest performances by placing 5th in the 54-hole marathon. The weather played a huge factor as we experienced sun, wind gusts to 40 mph, rain, sleet, hail, and a little snow during the 36-hole first day of the event. We only had to contend with wind and a little rain in the final round, so we considered ourselves lucky!
Blake Wisdom was the top Bison performer, shooting a fantastic +1 for the event with 72, 75, and 67 in the final round. Standing on the 18th tee, Blake was only one shot back and had a chance to tie for medalist honors in the 78-player field. Although it didn't work out, Blake played some of his best golf of the season and represented the Bucknell program well. Andres Barraza and Jackson Bussell had strong performances, carding (+8) and (+10) to finish in T16 and T25, respectively.
With no rest for the weary, we returned from Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening and departed Friday morning for Hamilton, N.Y., for a tri-match with host Colgate and St. Bonaventure. It was the final regular season event for all three teams and a last chance to get in some competitive rounds and fine-tune each squad's lineup for championship weekend.
Senior Josh Holtschlag carded 74/71 to shoot (+1) for the 36-hole event in his final regular season tournament for the Bison, garnering him co-medalist honors. It was a bookend redemption for Josh as he played his first event of the 2022-23 season at Colgate's Seven Oaks GC this past September and was sidelined with a severe ankle sprain during the practice round. Josh had to sit out the first two rounds but was able to gut out a 76 in the third and final round.   Â
It is a quiet Monday morning, May 1st, at the Bachman Golf Center, and I'm just processing this past weekend's competition at the Patriot League Championships. The championships were held at Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, Md., host Loyola's home turf.
The championship weekend saw the worst weather the Bison have played in during my tenure as head coach. Although the RedHawk Invitational saw some pretty nasty weather, this was on a different level, and all the teams' scores showed it.Â
Finishing in the middle of the pack, the Bison carded scores of 315, 299, and 305. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks were victorious, carding +30 for the tournament and gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals in a couple of weeks. It was tough to watch the Bison play their final rounds of the season, knowing that this event was more about weather and less about quality golf, but the weather always gets a vote, and in this case, the verdict.
Blake Wisdom and James Key were the top Bison performers, carding (+14) T12 and a (+15) T16, respectively. They were followed closely by Andres Barraza (+17) in 22nd and Jack Gardner at (+19) T26. Rounding out the Bison squad were Jackson Bussell (+23) T33 and Michael Rudnick (+23) T33. With a 4-hour delay after only playing 2-3 holes in the morning, the squad showed some true grit as they pushed through the final 15 holes and finally ended their rounds at 4:45 pm, after an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
We graduate four seniors this year; Jackson Bussell, Jack Gardner, Josh Holtschlag, and Blake Wisdom, and I can say without reservation that they are the most talented group of golfers/classmates in my nine years of coaching. I will miss them as they walk out the doors, but I'm also very proud of everything they have accomplished in their four years at Bucknell.
As we move into the postseason, I wish everyone a wonderful spring and a healthy 2023.
Coach
Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu
Â
Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.
In looking back at the month of April, the Bison Golf team has had a hectic month with three regular-season tournaments as well as this past weekend's Patriot League Championships. In early April, the team had its only off weekend, and they utilized it to get in as much outdoor work as possible to prepare for the spring's final push.
The first event in April was the Wildcat Invitational, held at LuLu Country Club just outside of Philadelphia. The Bison squad has played annually in Villanova's spring invitational over the years. The venue has undergone a few changes recently. Three years ago, during COVID, the event was moved from White Manor CC to Radnor Valley CC, where it was contested for two years before moving to LuLu CC this spring. The event was slightly different than usual as we played 27 holes on the first day and finished the remaining nine holes of the 36-hole contest on the final day. The course changed pins after 18 holes, and ½ the field played the front nine and ½ the field played the back nine and then flipped on the final day to finish the back nine of the final 18, making it a very tough challenge. If it sounds confusing, it was!
The team played very well and finished 4th in a 15-team field, including a (+2) performance from Jackson Bussell that garnered him a top-15 (T13) finish in the 94-player field, shooting scores of 74/70. Blake Wisdom narrowly missed a top-20 spot (T23) carding a (+4) score with rounds of 71/75. Overall, it was a strong performance by the Bison squad and gave us some positive mojo going into our next tilt, the RedHawk Invitational, played at the storied Pittsburgh Field Club and hosted by Miami (Ohio).
In the field were some of the best competitors that the Bison have faced all year, with the likes of Marquette, Richmond, Minnesota, George Washington, and North Dakota State University; all teams ranked higher than the Bison. In the 14-team field, the Bison squad was ranked only ahead of Eastern Kentucky and Ohio but came through with one of the year's strongest performances by placing 5th in the 54-hole marathon. The weather played a huge factor as we experienced sun, wind gusts to 40 mph, rain, sleet, hail, and a little snow during the 36-hole first day of the event. We only had to contend with wind and a little rain in the final round, so we considered ourselves lucky!
Blake Wisdom was the top Bison performer, shooting a fantastic +1 for the event with 72, 75, and 67 in the final round. Standing on the 18th tee, Blake was only one shot back and had a chance to tie for medalist honors in the 78-player field. Although it didn't work out, Blake played some of his best golf of the season and represented the Bucknell program well. Andres Barraza and Jackson Bussell had strong performances, carding (+8) and (+10) to finish in T16 and T25, respectively.
With no rest for the weary, we returned from Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening and departed Friday morning for Hamilton, N.Y., for a tri-match with host Colgate and St. Bonaventure. It was the final regular season event for all three teams and a last chance to get in some competitive rounds and fine-tune each squad's lineup for championship weekend.
Senior Josh Holtschlag carded 74/71 to shoot (+1) for the 36-hole event in his final regular season tournament for the Bison, garnering him co-medalist honors. It was a bookend redemption for Josh as he played his first event of the 2022-23 season at Colgate's Seven Oaks GC this past September and was sidelined with a severe ankle sprain during the practice round. Josh had to sit out the first two rounds but was able to gut out a 76 in the third and final round.   Â
It is a quiet Monday morning, May 1st, at the Bachman Golf Center, and I'm just processing this past weekend's competition at the Patriot League Championships. The championships were held at Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, Md., host Loyola's home turf.
The championship weekend saw the worst weather the Bison have played in during my tenure as head coach. Although the RedHawk Invitational saw some pretty nasty weather, this was on a different level, and all the teams' scores showed it.Â
Finishing in the middle of the pack, the Bison carded scores of 315, 299, and 305. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks were victorious, carding +30 for the tournament and gaining an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals in a couple of weeks. It was tough to watch the Bison play their final rounds of the season, knowing that this event was more about weather and less about quality golf, but the weather always gets a vote, and in this case, the verdict.
Blake Wisdom and James Key were the top Bison performers, carding (+14) T12 and a (+15) T16, respectively. They were followed closely by Andres Barraza (+17) in 22nd and Jack Gardner at (+19) T26. Rounding out the Bison squad were Jackson Bussell (+23) T33 and Michael Rudnick (+23) T33. With a 4-hour delay after only playing 2-3 holes in the morning, the squad showed some true grit as they pushed through the final 15 holes and finally ended their rounds at 4:45 pm, after an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
We graduate four seniors this year; Jackson Bussell, Jack Gardner, Josh Holtschlag, and Blake Wisdom, and I can say without reservation that they are the most talented group of golfers/classmates in my nine years of coaching. I will miss them as they walk out the doors, but I'm also very proud of everything they have accomplished in their four years at Bucknell.
As we move into the postseason, I wish everyone a wonderful spring and a healthy 2023.
Coach
Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu
Â
Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.