Sept. 16, 2011

Bucknell Invite - Day One Results

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Navy golf team stands in third place after the opening day of the Bucknell Men's Fall Invite in Lewisburg, Pa. The Mids posted a score of 578 (18 over par) to end Friday's 36-hole day just four strokes behind tournament-leader Lafayette and two strokes in back of second-place Longwood.

Additional team scores in the 13-team field include Lehigh in fourth place, just one shot behind Navy, with Army and the host Bison tied for fifth place with a score of 581 (21 over par).

"I am pleased with how we played today," said Navy head coach Pat Owen. "We feel we are right in the mix with a chance to win the tournament. Overall, we were very consistent today."

Lehigh jumped out with an opening-round score of 282 (+2) to lead the tournament by five strokes over Lafayette (287, +7) and nine shots over Navy and Longwood (both 291, +11). The Mountain Hawks came back to the field in the second round by shooting a 297 (+17) over the final 18 holes of the day. Only two teams shot worse than Lehigh did in the second round.

While the Mountain Hawks fell back as the day went on, Navy improved its score by four shots in the second round. The Mids posted a 287 (+7) in the latter round to remain in third place at the end of the day. That score by the Mids was tied for the third-best second-round score in the field. Longwood shot the best second-round score with a tally of 285 (+5), Army, which shot 295 (+15) over the first 18 holes, put together a 286 (+6) over the second 18, and Lafayette and Colgate joined the Mids with a 287.

"This was our first 36-hole day of the season, and that is always a grind," said Owen. "Our physical conditioning played a key in the second round. We really tried to re-focus mentally over the last nine holes of the day. We did not want to have a lapse and do anything sloppy. We stuck with our game plan and continued with our routines before shots and that allowed us to maintain our form through the end of the day."

The low-scoring Mid in both rounds of play was Peter Reilly (Sr., Merrimack, N.H.), who posted scores of 71 and 69 over the par-70 Bucknell University Golf Course. The two-time All-Patriot League performer was one of nine players in the field to break par during the second round of play, and his two-round score of 140 places him in a tie for fourth entering Saturday's final round.

"I am very happy for Peter," said Owen. "His second-round score was one of the best he has posted as a college golfer. He had a terrific ball-striking day to go along with good course management skills. He had a couple of tap-in birdies today."

Leading all players on the day was Army's Anthony Kim, who was one-under par in both of his rounds. Also bettering par for 36 holes were Lafayette's Carter Rufe and Longwood's Austin Gray, who both shot -1 on the first day of the invite. Joining Reilly at Even par after two rounds is Lehigh's Tim Rosenhouse.

Navy's August Jonas (Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.) won last weekend's Navy Fall Invite with a two-round score of 138 (-2). He continued his strong play Friday by posting a score of 146 (+6) to rank second amongst the Mids and in a tie for 20th place overall. One shot in back of Jonas are teammates Bobby Keating (So., Garden City, N.J.) and Drew Selby (So., Charlotte, N.C.). Rounding out the quintet of Mids who are competing as part of the team portion of the tournament is David Hall (So., Huntersville, N.C.), who is tied for 31st place with a two-round tally of 148 (+8). Additionally, Navy's Collier Jones (Sr., Little Rock, Ark.), who is playing as an individual this weekend, stands in a tie for 33rd place with a score of 149 (+9).

The teams will complete play at the invite Saturday by playing 18 holes over the 6,224-yard course that was inundated with rain as recently as a week ago.

"The course didn't really play longer than it was, but it was a very soft course," said Owen. "The greens were not as fast today and that was conducive to good scoring. I expect them to be firmer and faster Saturday. We will have to be sharp around the greens and stick with our game plan. It is a course where a college golfer does not use a driver much off the tee. That means you have to position yourself well from the tee to allow you to be aggressive with your second shot. The greens are tiny, so if you are not accurate heading into them you are going to have trouble."