Third Round Results | Third Round Player Leaderboard (PDF)
Third Round Team Leaderboard (PDF)
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. – Illinois State men's golf standout Trent Wallace saw his historic season come to a heartbreaking end Sunday in the third round of the NCAA Division I Championship at the par-72, 7,735-yard Rich Harvest Farms.
"Sport can be heartbreaking, and it was today as Trent's birdie putt on the final hole lipped out," head coach Ray Kralis said. "Had it dropped, he would have advanced to tomorrow by virtue of the tiebreaker which went to the lower final round score."
Wallace fired a 1-under-par 71 (37-34) Sunday, including a stellar 2-under-par 34 on the back nine. He finished the three rounds in a tie for 44th place out of 156 student-athletes and did better than 36 nationally-ranked participants, including five ranked in the top 10, as he finished with an even-par 216 (73-72-71).
The sophomore from Joliet, Illinois, started the third round on the first hole with a par but bogeyed the par-5 second. After back-to-back pars, a bogey on the par-3 fourth dropped him to 3-over for the tournament. However, Wallace finished the front nine strong with three pars and a birdie, which came on the par-5 seventh, to finish with a 1-over-par 37 over the first nine holes.
Wallace then caught fire on the back. He birdied the par-4 10th, the par-4 12th and the par-4 14th to move to 1-under-par. After producing back-to-back pars over the next two holes, he bogeyed the par-4 17th. Wallace then entered the par-5, 525-yard 18th hole needing a birdie and just missed it when his birdie putt lipped out. Wallace finished the back with a 2-under-par 34 and the round with a 1-under-par 71 (37-34).
"Trent played like a champion today, and while he came up one shot short, he certainly proved he is worthy of playing all four rounds and competing for a national championship," Kralis said. "He rebounded after a couple early bogies and showed so much courage and toughness on the biggest stage as he battled back to get it under par on the day."
Wallace finished the tournament with 14 birdies, including four in the third round.
"He is a big-time player and played big-time golf when the stakes were the highest," Kralis said. "He is a great champion and represented Illinois State and the Missouri Valley Conference so well. I could not be more proud of him."
The top 15 schools advanced to Monday's final round along with the top nine individuals who were not part of the advancing teams. Vanderbilt is currently the leader with an 18-under-par 846 (278-288-280), while Texas' Scottie Scheffler leads the field with a 12-under-par 204 (68-68-68).
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