Update from Head Men's Golf Coach Mike Binney -- October 2025

Dear Bucknell Men’s Golf Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

For the past three weeks, the men’s golf team has been going 100% in our first three tournaments: Colgate, Delaware, and the U.S. Naval Academy. Our results have been mixed, but we are working through our lineup and trying to find the right balance between tough courses, tough competition, and our overall goals for the season.

In late August, after everyone had returned to campus to start the season, we jumped right into our annual Bucknell Q-School; our home 54-hole qualifying event to determine our travel squad for Colgate’s Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational. Over the 54-hole event, we had 10 individual rounds at or below par and a team scoring average of 72.1 for the 24 rounds posted at Bucknell Golf Club. I’d have to go digging through the archives but that may be one of, if not the lowest scoring averages in school history. Senior James Robbins and sophomore Jack Hartman tied for medalist honors at 208 (-2) followed by freshman Hunter Duncan at (+4), junior Hayden Quinn at (+6), and junior transfer Taylor Kuehn at (+7) to round out the top six. The bottom line is that the boys played great and we were off to a solid start.

Although I am always suspicious about Hamilton, NY’s weather in the spring, I absolutely love the area in early September – it’s a fantastic time of year and we always look forward to the trip to upstate NY. At Colgate’s Seven Oaks Golf Course, the Bison were T4 after 54 holes in a very strong 14-team field with scores of 286 (-2), 292 (+4), and 295 (+7). Jack Hartman finished in 3rd place at (-2) overall with rounds of 71 (-1), 71 (-1), and 72 (E). Taylor Kuehn had a top-20 finish (T16) at (+3) with scores 71 (-1), 74 (+2), 74 (+2), and James Robbins just missed a top-20 finish at T21 shooting (+4) overall with rounds of 72 (E), 72 (E), 76 (+4).

With no rest for the weary, we returned home from Colgate and started prepping for Delaware’s event at White Clay Creek, just outside of Wilmington, DE. If anyone on this distribution list has played WCC, you will understand when I say that I am not a fan as the course was not suited to our collective games. Highlights of the tournament included a top-15 finish by Jack Hartman with scores of 78, 71, and 74, for an overall score of (+7). Patrick Pritsios also finished with a top-30 performance with scores of 75, 81 and 73. Beyond that the team struggled with the layout as most holes had red penalty areas or out of bounds on one side (lucky) or both sides (typical). We finished in 8th place in a 12-team field and can candidly say we are putting that event in the rear-view mirror!

Since Delaware’s event was a Monday/Tuesday tournament, and Navy’s event started three days later on Friday, we had a very short week to prep for the United States Naval Academy’s Invitation, known as the “GOAT”. Annapolis is one of my favorite places on the East Coast and the USNA’s course is a demanding layout that is made even more so when the wind blows off the Chesapeake Bay. The greens are firm and fast and the rough is thick. Thankfully for us, the wind didn’t whip but the course played tough all three rounds. Although we played much better than we did at Delaware, our results would suggest otherwise as we finished in the bottom half of the draw. Despite a tough first and third rounds, we lifted our game in the second round and posted a solid score of 292 to give us a boost going into the final round on Sunday. Although we didn’t improve our position overall, we posted some solid scores with even par (71) rounds from Jack Hartman and Taylor Kuehn, and a (+2) 73 by Patrick Pritsios in the second round.

With a full week to prepare for our next event, West Virginia’s Invitational at Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, PA, the guys are working on their games so that we’re ready to go today and tomorrow. Thank you, everyone for the support you have shown this team and the great group of guys that I feel incredibly honored to be able to coach.

Mike Binney
Head Men's Golf Coach
Bucknell University
mwb013@bucknell.edu

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.