MADISON, Wis. – The Illinois State men's golf team teed off its season Sunday with the opening 18 holes of Wisconsin's Badger Invitational at the par-72, 7,259-yard University Ridge Golf Course. The Redbirds started hot but finished their round with a 5-over-par 293, which puts them in a three-way tie for ninth place with Butler and Iowa State, who is the defending champion and was ranked No. 37 at the end of last season.
Texas A&M, who was ranked No. 15 at the end of last year, fired a 12-under-par 276 and is nine strokes ahead of the hosts and Nevada, who finished second last year and was also ranked in the top 100. Kansas, who was No. 40, shot a 288, while Marquette is in fifth-place with a 289. One stroke ahead of the Redbirds is Oakland, Notre Dame and UAB, another top-100 team from a year ago.
"We gave some back on a couple holes after getting off to a strong start to the round," head coach Ray Kralis said. "Overall though, things are still pretty bunched behind the leader Texas A&M, who created some separation. We have a bunch of firepower on this squad and are looking forward to tomorrow."
Senior Zach Burry, who is in a 19th-place tie, led the Redbirds with an even-par 72 (37-35), including a 1-under-par 35 on the back nine. He finished with four birdies, with a pair coming on each side of the turn. Junior Trent Wallace shot a 1-over-par 73 (37-36), as he also tallied four birdies, including three on the back nine when he shot an ever-par 36.
Rounding out the team scoring for Illinois State were sophomores Trey Tussey and David Perkins, as the duo each shot a 2-over-par 74. Tussey shot a 40 on the front but bounced back with a 2-under-par 34 on the back nine, where he connected on three of his four birdies in the round. Perkins started his day with an even-par 36 on the front nine, with two birdies, and collected one more in the second round, shooting a 38.
Junior David Rauer made his Redbird debut and shot a 3-over-par 75 (39-36), but his score did not count towards the team's overall total. He made two birdies on the day and shot an even-par 36 on the back nine. Playing as an individual, senior Jason Marrs shot a 2-over-par 74 (35-39), including a 1-under-par 35 on the front nine, which included three birdies.
Illinois State returns to action Monday with the second round of the Badger Invitational beginning at 9 a.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
