9.21.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University won the Bucknell Invitational in men's golf last weekend, September 16-17, at the Bucknell Golf Club in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  The Lancers finished first among 13 teams at the 54-hole tournament, posting 291-285-281--857 while battling from two shots behind entering the final round to easily win by nine shots over runner-up Army.  Fifteenth-year head coach Kevin Fillman and his program will take two weeks off from competition before returning to action October 3-4 at the 54-hole Joe Agee Invitational hosted by the College of William and Mary at the Colonial Heritage Golf Club in Williamsburg.

A Look Back At The Bucknell Invitational
Senior Austin Gray|Midlothian (Monacan) took tournament medalist honors and led Longwood with his two-under-par rounds of 68-71-69--208 that was five shots ahead of a four-way tie at 213 for second-place in the field of 70 that included classmate Kenny Leech|Boca Raton, Fla. (Grandview Prep) (75-67-71--213).  Gray tied the school record with his collegiate-best 208 for his first college tournament victory, and his rounds of 68 and 69 tied for second-best and fifth-best, respectively, during the event while Leech's 213 was a collegiate-best as well, and his round of 67 was the tourney's best round.  The fourth-year standouts were followed closely by senior Ross Sumner|Callao (Northumberland) (70-71-74--215, t-8th), along with freshman Jason Schumacher|Glen Allen (Deep Run) (79-72-70--225, t-38th) and sophomore Dylan Jensen|Martinsville (Carlisle) (78-76-71--225, t-38th).  Schumacher was playing in his first collegiate event for the Lancers.

Head Coach Kevin Fillman
“We've been fortunate to have won some tournaments over the past few years, and it's very satisfying each time.  It's extremely difficult to win, but that's why we put in all the work.  I'm happy to see the guys get rewarded for their efforts.  The key thing from my standpoint is to get us to play to or near our potential every round.  We came pretty close to it the final round.  I think that says a lot about our players.  Even though we hadn't played near the way we're capable of over the first 36 holes, we took advantage of being within striking distance heading into the final round and responded much better than the other teams that had the same opportunity.  We really showed our depth over the final 18 holes as the bottom of the lineup stepped up when it counted most.  Obviously, we want to win events as a team, but I'm thrilled that Austin won the individual title.  He's come a long way over the past few years, and, knowing both where he was and where he's headed, that makes it very special.  Kenny played really well too.  He struggled in the Friday morning round, but his 67 that afternoon probably kept us in contention.

“We played at William and Mary on the same golf course two years ago.  As I remember, we had the lead pretty late and didn't finish it off.  Our goal will be to get back in that position but this time, take full advantage of the opportunity.  We'll work hard the next couple weeks to give ourselves the best chance to go play well.”

More On The Bucknell Invitational
Austin Gray led the tournament field in par 3 scoring (2.87, -2), tied for second in par 4 scoring (4.03, +1), tied for third in birdies (10), and tied for sixth in pars (37).  Kenny Leech also tied for third in birdies (10), while tied for ninth in par 5 scoring (4.78, -2) and tied for 10th in par 4 scoring (4.10, +3).  Ross Sumner led the field in par 5 scoring (4.44, -5) and tied for first in eagles (1).  Longwood led the field in par 5 scoring (4.89, -5) and birdies (39), tied for first in pars (164), was second in par 4 scoring (4.17, +25), and tied for second in both par 3 scoring (3.21, +16) and eagles (1).

In The Record Book
In addition to tying the school record for 54-holes (208), Austin Gray also tied for the fifth-best 36-hole score (68-71--139).  His two-under-par 208 matched that of Chris Shuford posted in 2004, though Shuford's total was at eight-under, while the one-under 139 was most-recently posted by Scooter Buhrman in 2009 (-5).  Kenny Leech tied the sixth-best round in school history with his second-day, three-under-par 67, equaling that posted most-recently by both Buhrman (-5) and Adam Webb (-3) in 2008.

Close At The Top | Season Statistics
Through two tournaments and six rounds of golf, only five shots separate the top three golfers for Longwood.  Ross Sumner (429) is averaging 71.50 with low rounds of 69 posted twice.  Austin Gray (430) is averaging 71.67 with low rounds of 68 and 69.  Kenny Leech (434) is averaging 72.33 with the team's low round of 67.  Dylan Jensen (456) is averaging 76.00 with a low round of 71, followed by Jason Schumacher (225-75.00, 70) and freshman Blake Carter|Bassett (Bassett) (225-75.00, 72) who have each played one tournament.  The Lancers are averaging 289.83 as a team through two events, and though it is early, well ahead of the school-record scoring average of 295.10 established during 2008-09 when the program won three tournaments to go along with two runner-up efforts.

A Look At The Joe Agee Invitational
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will include 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 3, and 18 holes in Tuesday, Oct. 4.  The Colonial Heritage Golf Club will play approximately 6,700-yards and is a par 71 layout.  Old Dominion University is the defending champion after posting a 578 last year.  Longwood did not play in the event a year ago, but finished third among 11 teams in 2009 with its 582.  Austin Gray tied for third in '09 with 74-69--143, while senior Bobby Fox|South Riding (Xavier, Conn.) tied for eighth at 71-73--144.

Up Next
Longwood will participate in the Seton Hall Intercollegiate Oct. 15-16, a 54-hole tournament at the Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.