AKRON, Ohio - The Illinois State men's golf team sits in first place after the first day of Akron's Firestone Invitational at the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Junior Trent Wallace, sophomore David Perkins, senior Zach Burry and freshman Andrew O'Brien all rank among the top-10 on the individual leaderboard.
The Redbirds showed tremendous depth and finished with a two-round total of 12-under-par 564, after shooting a 6-under-par 282 in round one and repeating a 6-under-par 282 in round two. ISU leads the 16-team field, sitting five strokes ahead of host Akron and nine strokes ahead of Cincinnati.
Wallace started the tournament strong and is currently in fourth place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 139, after firing a 1-under-par 71 (37-34) in the first round and a season-low 4-under-par 68 (36-32) in the second round. His performance also included eight birdies on the day.
Perkins is right behind Wallace in a tie for fifth place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 140, after tallying a 1-under-par 71 (36-35) in the first round and a 3-under-par 69 (34-35) in the second round, adding 10 total birdies.
Burry and O'Brien are both currently tied for eighth place with a score of 143. Burry shot an ever-par 72 (35-37) followed by a one-under-par 71 (39-32) in the second round, including nine birdies and an eagle. O'Brien made the most of his Redbird debut by firing a career-low 4-under-par 68 (34-34) in the first round and a 3-over-par 75 (36-39) in the second round, finishing with 9 total birdies and an eagle.
Rauer rounded out the Redbirds scoring and is in a tie at 35th place on the individual leaderboard with a score of 149, after shooting a 3-over-par 75 (37-38) in round one and a 2-over-par 74 (38-36) in the second round. Rauer also finished with four total birdies.
"The guys put together a great team effort today and did a great job of staying patient and confident from start to finish", said head coach Ray Kralis. "Andrew O'Brien gave us a big lift in the opening round, and we capitalized as a team with three solid scores at par or better to go with it. Trent Wallace's afternoon round was just as big and kept us going even though we gave a few back early in round two. David Perkins and Zach Burry did a great job of staying in the present and turned rocky starts into under par rounds. We have a great opportunity in front of us, but this sport is very unpredictable. We have learned some valuable lessons about ourselves though early this season, and I know we have what it takes to handle this test."
The tournament concludes Tuesday with the final 18 holes, with teams starting at holes one and 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. CST.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
