AKRON, Ohio– Illinois State took seventh place of 17 schools in the 2018 Firestone Invitational. Junior David Perkins finished in sixth place individually out of 90 golfers. Perkins has placed in the top 10 individual golfers in all three tournaments so far this season.
The Redbirds finished with a three strokes over par 867 (287-285-295). Host Akron finished in first overall in the tournament with 857 (286-285-286).
Perkins led the team today shooting one-under par for the day and finishing with a score of 212 (72-69-71). Perkins finished sixth place individually. He shot an eagle in the first round of the first round of competition and got five birdies in the final round. This is Perkins second week in a row placing sixth individually, and third in a row placing top 10.
Sophomore Andrew O'Brien shot two strokes over par on the day and ended with an even par for the tournament (216). He stayed in the top 20 golfers and tied for 17thindividually.
Seniors Trent Wallace and David Rauer both shot a 77 in the final round. Wallace finished with a score of 218 (72-69-77) and Rauer finished with 232 (78-77-77). Junior Joel Durnford got one stroke over par and ended with a 221 (76-72-73) for the tournament.
"It is obviously disappointing to back up when we went into the day hoping to make a move up the leaderboard," coach Ray Kralis said. "We didn't just display the depth we have seen from this squad, and you are always vulnerable when you struggle with the fourth & fifth score like we did this week. Dave Perkins gave us another very solid performance, and his maturity as a player was on display as he did it without his A game. We'll learn from this & move forward to the next one."
Illinois State will return to play in two weeks on October 15thwhen the Redbirds travel to Kettering, Ohio to play in the Dayton Invitational.
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