Feb. 28, 2009
PLACIDA, Fla. -
The Illinois State men's golf team fell to No. 7 Illinois in the sixth annual Tinervin Cup, 8-1, at Coral Creek Country Club Saturday. Junior Kyle Bragg claimed the Redbirds loan point after firing a 4-over par 75 to defeat Illinois' Chris DeForest in the stroke-play portion of the event.
The event, which is a change from traditional stroke scoring, features three two-on-two, head-to-head, better-ball matches in the morning and six individual head-to-head, stroke-based matches in the afternoon. Each separate match is worth one of nine team points.
The Illini swept the better-ball morning session and found themselves up, 3-0, entering the stroke-based match play in the afternoon.
"Going down 3-0 in the morning session was not the start we had hoped for," said head coach Ray Kralis. "We wanted to get some points on the board early and carry that momentum into the afternoon; it just didn't work out that way."
Sophomore Will Cullen shot a team-low 73 for the Redbirds, but was not enough to surpass his playing competitor, Joe Barlow, who shot a 1-under par 70. Joe Emerich (77), Jeff Kellen (78), Tommy Bliefnick (79) and Ben Murphy (79) were all defeated in the afternoon session of the event.
"I saw frustration today and I didn't think we were very mentally tough," said Kralis. "We didn't play our game and then we started to press. The scores we put up today aren't a reflection of who we are; that's the tough part."
Illinois' Scott Langley shot a 3-under par 69 and was low in the stroke-play portion.
Illinois State will compete in the Samford Intercollegiate at Limestone Springs Golf Course March 10-11 in Limestone, Ala.
Morning Matches:
Barlow/Jacobs def. Cullen/Murphy 5&3
DeForest/Guthrie def. Bliefnick/Bragg 5&4
Langley/Hoffman def. Kellen/Emerich 3&1
Afternoon Matches:
Jacobs (72) def. Murphy (79)
Barlow (70) def. Cullen (73)
Guthrie (69) def. Bliefnick (79)
Bragg (75) def. DeForest (79)
Hoffman (73) def. Emerich (77)
Langley (68) def. Kellen (78)
