ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Following his medalist honor at the Dayton Flyer Invitational, Illinois State junior Joel Durnford has been named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Golfer of the Week.
Durnford's three-under-par final score was best in the field by a stroke and he was under par in two of the three rounds. He was two strokes over par after the first 18 holes but rebounded with a four-under 67 in the second round, and a one-under 70 in the final round to secure the individual win.
The medalist honor was the first for an Illinois State student-athlete since the fall finale in 2017, when Trent Wallace took the top spot at the Little Rock Intercollegiate.
The Player of the Week honor is the first of Durnford's career, and the second this season by an Illinois State golfer after Dave Perkins earned the honor on September 12.
For the season Durnford is third on the team with a 72.1 stroke per round average and is a combined +10 over the four tournaments.
As a team at Dayton, the Redbirds tied for second place, the team's third top-two finish this season, including a team win at the Wisconsin Badger Invitational to open the season.
Illinois State returns to action on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22 and 23 at the Little Rock Intercollegiate, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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