April 6, 2009
Stats
Match Notes 
NORMAL, Ill. -The Illinois State men's golf team is in fourth place after Kyle Bragg, Tommy Bliefnick and Jeff Kellen all cracked the top-10 Monday in the Branson Creek Invitational at Branson Creek Golf Club in Hollister, Mo. Bragg was low for the Redbirds after he carded a 4-over-par 75 on the 6,929-yard course.
Due to inclement weather, the 54-hole tournament has been reduced to 36 holes, as announced by Missouri State officials. Monday's play consisted of 27 holes, and Tuesday will feature nine holes for the completion of the tournament. Monday's first-round scores have been posted; however, the additional nine holes played Monday will not be released until the conclusion of Tuesday's round.
The Redbirds tallied a 307 in the opening round, putting them in fourth place out of a 12-team field. Bragg's 75 earned him a share of eighth place, while Bliefnick and Kellen both find themselves tied for 10th after posting 76's. Bliefnick netted a pair of 38's on the par-71 course, and Kellen registered a 37 on the front-nine and 39 on the back-nine.
"The weather was brutal out there for the players," said head coach Ray Kralis. "As a team, I thought we were mentally tough from the beginning and I'm real proud of how we battled. We had some players step up when we needed them too, and hopefully tomorrow we will be able to battle the weather and turn out alright."
Ben Murphy shot a first-round total of 80 (39-41) and is T38th, while Drew North posted a 41-48--89 and tied for 65th place to round out the scoring for the Redbirds.
The final nine holes will be completed Tuesday at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
