Men's Golf Finishes Second at Firestone Invitational

Final Round Results | Final Round Results PDF

AKRON, Ohio - The Illinois State men's golf team finished in second place Tuesday at Akron's Firestone Invitational at the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club (North Course) in Akron, Ohio, after a well-rounded tournament performance. The Redbirds came up just short of a first-place finish after leading the 16-team field for almost the entire round, shooting a 3-over-par 291 to finish with an 11-under-par 853 (284-278-291).

Cincinnati won the tournament and finished three strokes ahead of ISU with a 14-under-par 850 (283-284-283), after shooting a 5-under-par 283 as a team in the final round. Akron finished third overall with an 8-under-par 856 (280-284-292). The top six in the field all finished under par.

Junior Zach Burry finished in a tie for eighth place on the individual leaderboard, as he finished the tournament with a 4-under-par 216 (71-67-74). Burry carded a 2-over-par 74 (37-37) in the final round and added five birdies on the day, including four on the front nine.

Freshman David Perkins tied for the Redbirds lowest score of the round, shooting an even-par 72 (34-38) and finished in a tie for 12th place. Perkins also added three birdies and finished with a 3-under-par 213 (70-71-72). Joining Perkins was sophomore Trent Wallace, who also fired an even-par 72 in the final round (35-37), which included three birdies and a key shot on the 18th hole. He finished the event with a 2-over-par 218.

Senior Christian Crabill ended the final round with a 1-over-par 73 (38-35) and finished in a tie for 17th place. He also added three straight birdies to finish the final 18 holes while ending the tournament with a 1-under-par 215 (69-73-73).

Senior Austin Havens rounded out the scoring for ISU, as he tallied a 2-over-par 74 (39-35), finishing with four birdies. He shot a 1-over-par 217 (75-68-74) over the three rounds.

"I am so proud of the guys and their effort today," head coach Ray Kralis said. "We battled through some adversity and never gave up. Great shots were hit by the top three teams coming down the stretch, which made it very exciting and close all the way to the end. We gave ourselves an opportunity with a strong team effort throughout and can take a number of positives from this, and I'm quite confident the team is motivated to be back with an opportunity again."  

The Redbirds return to action at Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic, Oct. 9-11, at the Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Indiana.

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