NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head men's golf coach Ray Kralis has announced that three student-athletes: Felix van Dijk, Parker Wisdom, and Joseph Hodgson, have signed to compete for the Redbirds starting in the fall of 2019.
"We found exactly what we were looking for in this recruiting class," said Kralis. "I am very excited about the additions these men will make to our program. All three men are high-character guys, and they bring a high level of experience and exposure that has prepared them for the transition to Division I golf."
A native of Tilburg, Holland, van Dijk is a member of the Dutch National Team and has had a world amateur ranking as high as 855. He finished ninth at the 2018 International Juniors of Belgium with tournament scores of 75, 69, 70, and 74, and it represented his second top-25 finish in the event.
He was the champion of the 2017 Dutch National U21 Match Play Championship and finished third in the event in 2018. He is a two-time runner-up at the Dutch National U18 Stroke Play Championship in 2017 (71-68-71) and in 2018 (67-72-66). In 2017 he placed 11th in both the Dutch Amateur Championship (71-71-71-71) and the Dutch International Junior Open (74-70-70-72).
"Felix is a national champion and has a wealth of tournament experience under his belt," said Kralis. "His involvement with the Dutch national team for the past few years has been a bonus in providing competitive training and competition. He has competed well on courses all over the world, so he has been conditioned for what we do week-to-week. He was drawn by our competitive success and will be a big factor in raising our program's bar even higher."
Wisdom, who competes for Bloomington Central Catholic High School has placed in the top-six in two of his last three Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships, including a sixth-place finish as a junior 2017 (72-74) and fourth as a sophomore in 2016 (73-76).
He tied for 16th at the 2018 Illinois State Amateur Championship hosted at Bloomington Country Club with rounds of 72-71-76-68, and he had the second-best final round score in the field. He also won the 2018 Mid-America Junior Golf Tour (MAJGT) Kenosha Classic with scores of 73-70, placed second at the MAJGT Orchard Valley Open with scores of 70-69, and tied for second at the MAGT Northern Illinois Classic with scores of 72-74.
"Parker is a complete player with a very high ceiling," said Kralis. "His performance at the Illinois State Amateur Championship was very solid, and we got a glimpse of his potential when his final round 68 was the second- best score of the day in a very strong field. The fact that he finished both fourth and sixth at the IHSA 2A State Championship speaks to his skill level and competitiveness. His work ethic and love for the game are a couple of the intangibles that I see in him, and I really look for him to blossom in this environment."
Hodgson is a native of Adelaide, South Australia, and currently competes for Indian Hills Community College. Indian Hills was the 2018 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Champions and are currently the top-ranked team after the fall of 2018. He is nationally ranked among the top-10 NJCAA Division I sophomores. During the fall of 2018 he averaged 72.3 strokes per round and has six top-10 finishes over his one and a half seasons with the Warriors.
He also has international experience and competed in the 2016 and 2017 Australian Amateur Championships. In 2017 he was the South Australian Open Champion, shooting back-to-back rounds of 71, and placed 18th at the South Australia Classic with rounds of 72-71-72-79.
"Joe will be coming from a national powerhouse at Indian Hills Community College, so he will already be very familiar with the competition level we face," said Kralis. "He has certainly proven himself at the NJCAA DI level and competed well in strong Division I fields which they have on their schedule. I look for him to make an impact right away."
The Redbirds open play during the 2019 spring season on Jan. 26 in Placida, Florida, in an exhibition match against Illinois at the annual Tinervin Cup, and the first tournament of the year comes on Feb. 11 at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Alabama.
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