Final Round Results | Final Round Results (PDF)
DALLAS, Texas – The Illinois State men's golf team finished in seventh place Thursday after shooting a 300 in the final round of Oral Roberts' Bob Sitton Invitational at the par-71 TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. The Redbirds concluded the tournament with an 882 (285-297-300), 30 strokes behind champion Arkansas State, who finished with an even-par 852 (288-282-282) in the 24-team field. Fellow Missouri Valley Conference foes Missouri State (916) and Northern Iowa (934) finished in 21st and last, respectively
Overall, sophomore Trent Wallace finished the event with a 4-over-par 75 (38-37) and a final score of 4-over-par 217 (71-71-75), which was good enough for a 12th-place tie on the individual leaderboard. He recorded three birdies in the final round, with two coming in the back nine.
Freshman David Perkins tallied a 6-over-par 219 (72-74-73) and registered his only two birdies of the final round on the back nine to finish with a 2-over-par 73 (37-36) over the final 18 holes, which was Illinois State's lowest score. He recorded two birdies on the front nine.
Senior Christian Crabill also ended the tournament with a 6-over-par 219 (72-71-76) and produced his only birdie of the final round on the front nine to shoot a 5-over-par 76 (38-38). Juniors Jason Marrs and Zach Burry also shot 76s in the final round. Marrs (36-40) finished with three birdies, and Burry (39-37) finished with two, and Burry recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3 fifth hole. Marrs finished with a 227 (70-81-76) and Burry a 232 (75-81-76).
"Our finish today has some sting to it," head coach Ray Kralis said. "We had ourselves in the final pairing again, but posted the high score among the teams in the top half of the field to fall four spots in the final standings. While we placed ahead of a number of solid teams among the 17 behind us, it doesn't feel like much consolation. The plan was to be hitting our stride about this time in the season, but we still need to show the depth I believe we have more frequently and more consistency from round to round. I am encouraged that we had three players among the top 20 in a field of 120 players, but the goal is to compete for the top spot as a team. We have some work to do with April right in front of us."
The Redbirds return to action Saturday, March 25, when they host Bradley in the I-74 Challenge at Weinbring Golf Course.
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