Day One Results
AKRON, Ohio - The Illinois State men's golf team sits in first place after the first day of Akron's Firestone Invitational at the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club (North Course) in Akron, Ohio. Junior Zach Burry, freshman David Perkins, senior Christian Crabill and senior Austin Havens rank among the top-25 on the individual leaderboard. The Redbirds showed tremendous depth and finished with a two-round total of 14-under-par 562, after shooting a 4-under-par 284 in round one and a 10-under-par 278 in round two. ISU leads the 16-team field, sitting two strokes ahead of host Akron and three strokes ahead of Cincinnati.
Burry continued his stellar play and is currently tied for second place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 138, after firing a 1-under-par 71 (35-36) in the first round and a career-low 5-under-par 67 (33-34) in the second round. His performance also included eight birdies and two eagles on the day.
Perkins is right behind Burry in a tie for 12th place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 141, after tallying a 2-under-par 70 (37-33) in the first round and a 1-under-par 71 (35-36) in the second round, adding six total birdies.
Crabill is currently tied for 18th place with a score of 142 after firing a career-low 3-under-par 69 (37-33) in the first round and a 1-over-par 73 (34-39) in the second round, finishing with 10 total birdies.
Havens had an impressive performance in his second competition with the Redbirds, totaling a score of 143, after tallying a 3-over-par 75 (38-37) in the first round and following with a season-low 4-under-par 68 (31-37) in the second round. He currently sits in 24th place on the individual leaderboard and totaled nine birdies, including four in a row in the second round.
Sophomore Trent Wallace rounded out the Redbirds scoring and is in 35th place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 146, after shooting a 2-over-par 74 (38-36) in round one and an even-par 72 (37-35) in the second round. Wallace also finished with five total birdies, including a first-round eagle.
"We had strong contributions from everyone today, making for a great team effort in both rounds," head coach Ray Kralis said. "I was very pleased to see us keep the pedal down in round two, after opening with a solid 4-under-par total in the morning, which put us right in the hunt. We made a statement in the afternoon with the low round of the day, which obviously puts us in a great position heading into the final day. We have to be mentally and emotionally strong tomorrow, as it will be easy to feel like we have a lot to lose, but we know we have plenty of firepower and need to stay patient and in the present all day long. The depth of this team is a major advantage and should strengthen us individually as we aim to finish this off."
The tournament concludes Tuesday with the final 18 holes, with teams starting at holes one and 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. CST.
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