Sept. 19, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. -
Senior Matt Miller tied his career-low 18-hole score by shooting a third-round, six-under-par 66 to lead the Illinois State men's golf team at the Kansas Invitational Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan. The Redbirds moved up seven spots in the standings, finishing the tournament by shooting a third-round team score of 283, the lowest team round in the tournament and good enough for fifth-place.
Miller finished with a three-round total of three-under-par 213 (74, 73, 66) and six shots back. Assistant coach Pina Gentile was impressed with effort from all the `Birds in the third-round at the Alvamar Golf Club.
"We had a great day today," said Gentile. "It was wonderful to see everyone get off to a good start because last night we talked about achieving two goals. One was to not have a score higher than 75 count towards our team total, and the other was to shoot in the 290's in the third-round as a team. We accomplished both of those goals.
"Matt Miller had a great round today," added Gentile. "He started his day under-par and continued to make birdies and put up a low score. He was able to sink some putts today, and he struck the ball well. I know that he felt that his game has been there since the beginning of the season and today he was able to put up a low score."
Freshman Tommy Bliefnick fired a third-round, one-under-par 71, moving up 21 spots to finish tied for 26th,with a three-round total of 225 (79, 75, 71). Sophomore Ben Murphy continued the trend of improvement, finishing tied for 33rd with a three-round total of 227 (78, 77, 72). Freshman Drew Miller (T-55th) fired a three-round total of 233 (77, 80, 76). Rounding out the lineup for the `Birds, sophomore Kyle Bragg was one shot behind the younger Miller with a three-round total of 234 (77, 83, 74), ending the tournament tied for 65th.
Host Kansas won the two-day tournament, as senior Gary Woodland claimed medalist honors by shooting a three-round, nine-under-par 207 (67, 68, 72). Iowa State (293, 291, 298) and Nebraska (295, 294, 293) finished 20 shots back, tying for second-place with a three-round team total of 882. Houston finished in third-place, seven shots ahead of the `Birds. Missouri Valley Conference members Missouri State, Drake and Northern Iowa finished in 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.
Gentile believes the third-round score will help the Redbirds' confidence, but feels the team still has room for improvement.
"It was great to come out and play the way we did today," said Gentile. "Today was huge confidence-wise. But there are still things that we need to work on in preparation for the next tournament. The big thing is looking at where we are losing shots, whether it is from 100 yards to the pin or on the drive."
The Redbirds will have some time to practice and prepare before they travel to compete at the first annual Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic on Oct. 9-10, in Notre Dame, Ind.
