Northwestern Wins Second Annual Bush Cup

10/14/2016 6:35:00 PM | Men's Golf

FINAL RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY

MEDINAH, Ill. -- After a gorgeous day of competitive golf at Medinah Country Club on Friday, Northwestern defeated Army in the second annual Bush Cup for its second-consecutive team win.

This was the second year of the Bush Cup that was created to honor the former President of the United States George H.W. Bush. The event mimicked Walker Cup format. The teams sent out four foursomes in the morning and eight individuals in the afternoon with a total of 12 points at stake.

Northwestern won the morning foursome matches, 3.5-0.5, with the team of Dylan Wu and Pete Griffith coming back in dramatic fashion to earn half a point for the Wildcats. Trailing by two with two holes to play, Griffith nailed a birdie putt to win No. 17 before Wu stuffed his approach at the 18th to inside of 10 feet for a match-halving birdie.

Conor Richardson and Luke Miller earned an emphatic 6 and 4 victory in the alternating shot matches during the morning, while Sam Triplett and Ryan Lumsden pulled ahead late in their match with a par at No. 17 to eke out a 1UP win.

Northwestern built on its lead quickly during afternoon singles with the first two matches out ending under the watchful eye of David Feherty on the 13th green. Griffith won the par-3 13th with a par to capture a 7-and-5 result while Everton Hawkins halved the 13th for a 6 and 5 win.

In Match 5 of the afternoon, Triplett built a quick 3-up advantage through four holes and never allowed his opponent to come within two holes the rest of the way, winning his match 4-and-3

Lumsden and Nick Turner were in a dogfight through 11 holes in Match 6 before Lumsden went birdie-birdie-par to win holes 14 through 16 and turn a tight contest into a 4 and 2 win and another point for Northwestern.

In the final match out in the afternoon, Dylan Wu had a monster 5-up lead through 10 holes before Peter Kim from Army came storming back with wins at 11, 12 and 13. With his lead cut down to two holes, Wu steadied the ship and birdied the drivable par-4 15th to win his match, 4 and 3.

In Match 3 in the afternoon, Luke Miller was down two holes after five. He won the next three holes in a row to flip the script and take the lead himself, never relinquishing it in a 2 and 1 Wildcats winner.

Despite trailing for much of the afternoon, and despite a loss-of-hole penalty at No. 14 that put him two down with four to play, Andrew Whalen recovered to play the final four holes in 2-under par to win the final point of the tournament, 1UP. He birdied No. 18 to break free from all square.